Influential Democrats in South Carolina are largely no longer discussing Kamala Harris as a potential presidential candidate, while in California, the idea of her political future is met with impatience and weary sighs, according to Politico.
Democrats on both coasts did not express much enthusiasm at the prospect of Harris either running for California’s governor’s mansion in 2026 or launching a presidential bid in 2028, according to Politico. The article comes after recent reports that Harris is considering whether to launch a bid to succeed term-limited Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026 or make a third consecutive bid for the White House in the 2028 presidential race.
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Minola Clark Manson, a delegate from eastern San Diego County, told Politico that she would be “on the fence” about supporting Harris for California’s governor.
“I’m really on the fence,” Manson told Politico. “I probably would vote for Kamala Harris but there would be an underlying discomfort.”
“We haven’t really heard from her [Harris] on California issues since Trump’s inauguration,” Madison Zimmerman, a state party delegate from rural Shasta County, told Politico. “I feel like California isn’t a consolation prize.”
Carol Weiss, a delegate from Sunnyvale, said during the California Democratic Party’s 2025 State Convention this weekend that she was concerned that if Harris secured the governor’s mansion in California she would use the position as a “placeholder” to make a second White House bid in 2028, Politico reported.
“My concern about Harris is that she would be using the position, if she won, as a placeholder for a second run at the presidency,” Weiss said. “And that would make me feel like I’m wasting my vote. I want a strong governor for at least four years.”
Still, some Democrats have said they would support Harris if she decides to enter the gubernatorial race in California, Politico reported.
“I think she should run for governor and be the best governor California has ever had,” Amanda Loveday, a Democratic strategist and former executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, told Politico.
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Some other Democrats said they would be excited about the prospect of Harris launching a third presidential bid, Politico reported. Michelle Brandt, the former third vice chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, told the outlet that she believes Harris making a White House run in 2028 would be “exciting.”
Harris suffered a decisive loss to President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, failing to win all seven swing states and the national popular vote.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
