- Former Vice President Kamala Harris has set an end-of-summer deadline to decide whether she’ll run for California governor in 2026. Gov. Gavin Newsom will leave office in early 2027 after a term limit.
- Harris would be the first Black woman to be governor in America.
- Harris is also reportedly still considering another historic run for president in 2028.
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Could Kamala Harris be the next governor of California? The former vice president is weighing the idea of a gubernatorial run and has reportedly given herself a deadline to decide. Multiple outlets are reporting that Harris said she’ll decide by the end of the summer.
California’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, is term-limited. He will leave office in early 2027, with the state’s primary race scheduled for June 2026.
The top two candidates with the most votes will move on to the general election.
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Where does Harris stand now for a possible gubernatorial run?
According to a recent Emerson College poll, Harris would be the Democratic favorite for governor of California. Fifty-seven percent of registered Democratic voters in the state said they would support Harris if she entered the race.
The next highest potential candidate from the poll is former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter. Nine percent said they would support Porter’s bid for governor.
Other Democrats who have already announced their candidacies include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former California state senate leader Toni Atkins, California schools superintendent Tony Thurmond and the state’s former comptroller Betty Yee.
Harris won statewide elections in California three times before becoming state attorney general in 2010. She was reelected in 2014 and elected as a U.S. senator in 2016.
Harris’ aides told Politico that she’s been intrigued by the idea of being the chief executive of California, the fifth-largest economy in the world and the first Black woman to be governor in America.
Could Harris run for president again?
Harris is also still considering another run for president in 2028. She’s maintaining significant leads in early polls of the field of Democratic candidates, including Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Newsom is also a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender. He recently voiced his new position on trans athletes. He condemned their participation in women’s sports on Thursday, March 6, reopening a rift in the Democratic Party that could become one of the earliest flashpoints of the 2028 primary election, while some suggest his remarks on transgender athletes may resonate with voters.
