The suspension on whether former Vice President Kamala Harris will jump into California's 2028 governor race has effectively frozen her hometown field as a potential successor to the successor of the Democrats, who have been restricted for a time-limited government, Gavin Newsom (D).
Harris is messing up the chatter and has yet to let her know what plans are for the white house yet, but she still topped with early polls and could potentially take other candidates into the looming slot.
“The race is pending until she makes a decision,” said Stephen Mavilio, a Democratic strategist in California. “It was very difficult for other candidates to raise funds and gain support, and because they're like Dominoes, it impacted every other office in the state.”
New to her losses in the November presidential election, Harris faces questions about her next political move.
She had deep connections to Golden State, serving as San Francisco District Attorney and later as state attorney general. She is the first woman, first African American and first Asian American in both offices. She continued to represent California in the Senate until she was tapped to join the Biden administration.
“VP Harris has dedicated her career to Americans over the past decades, and it's clear that she hasn't served,” a former Harris aide told Hill. “No matter what path she decides to go, she will have an army of people ready to support her.”
Harris pushed aside questions about the governor's run in early February. He visited areas affected by the Palisade fire and emphasized that he wanted to return from his tenure in Washington and connect with the community.
But Harris' experience, national name recognition and key fundraising chops have cheered her on with a statewide campaign.
“She's going to be a presumed favorite,” Mavilio said. “I don't think anyone can measure her status.”
She also receives support throughout the state.
Christian Gross, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California, said Harris is “freezing the field because other candidates aren't as mutually restrained in terms of geographical support.”
November poll surveyThe former vice president was discovered with a large turnout from the UC Berkeley government research institute. A February survey from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill found that if she jumped in, she would “start as a clear favorite.”
Without Harris, “the primary is wide open,” Kimball said in his analysis.
Lieutenant Colonel Eleni Kunarakis (D) and public leader Tony Thurmond (D) have been operating since 2023. Former state assembly speaker Toni Atkins, former state controller Betty Yi and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigoza (D) attempted to oppose the news in 2018.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has arrived First major GOP candidates Bids will begin this month.
Harris' question is that the already declared candidates are not fully maintaining the campaign. But the approval and big funding dollars are now “probably in a retention pattern,” Grouse said.
“If you're a major Democrat in a state that isn't running for governor, if you think Harris will come in later, you might not want to jump in and support someone. “So I think some of the rather strong candidates on the Democrat side have a bit of a struggle to gain traction and support until you know who's going to increase.”
Other candidates for governors and other offices in the state may be waiting.
It is led by former MP Katie Porter (D-Calif), who left home after failing in the Senate last year.Late September poll surveyWhen Harris was running for an oval office from the University of California trio. However, Porter said late last year that Harris's run could “have a field clearing effect that is close to a democratic side.” By the Orange County Register.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (d) decided to oppose the run to governor in February.And he spoke to PoliticoIf she ran, he supported Harris and said her candidacy was “field clearing.”
David McKuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, argued that few Democrats “want to go to the battle with the former vice president.”
On the GOP side, President Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, may not be able to run if Harris enters.”
“If Kamala Harris is running for governor, I believe she has that baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars. I'll educate her on how bad she is. It's a new day in California and I say Republicans actually have shots,” Grenell said in February.
Another name comes to mind is Los Angeles mayor Rick Caruso, a Republican registered until 2011 and a businessman-turned-politician who turned to voice critics for how California handled wildfire fallout this year.
“It could be two 800-pound gorillas,” said Matt Rodriguez, a longtime Democratic strategist at Harris and Caruso.
“I think that's the amount [Caruso] Some people think about taking it to the table simply because it's a very expensive condition. He's someone who has enough money to automatically run any kind of campaign he wants,” Rodriguez said.
California has a top two open primary systems in particular. That is, all stakeholder candidates will appear together in the primary vote next June. This means that two Democrats could go on to the general in a local battle or see a more classic Democrat opponents contest in racial terms.
The last time a Republican acquired California governor was in 2006. Rerect has been recorded. And Trump invaded California in November, but since 1992, the state has turned blue in presidential elections.
Turning the governor's mansion over will be a tough mission for the GOP, but even so, the party may be aiming to take away the superiority of racial Democrats.
“They feel the opportunity for the backlash because of La Fires [Los Angeles Mayor] Karen Bass, for repulsion and fire destruction against Gavin Newsom. This is a political opportunity,” McCuan said of the GOP.
Some Republicans may also want to bait Harris on the race to prevent her from running for the White House or draw more attention to the race.
“Everyone is waiting for what to see [former] The Vice President is because she is a very heavyweight in fundraising, support,” McCuan said. “The great unknown, the elephant in the room is whether Kamala Harris has decided to enter the race.”
Alex Gangitano contributed.
