Democrats hoping to become California’s next governor have been working this spring and summer, trying to win over the deep-pocketed donors and interest groups that could help them win the 2026 primary, but they’re locked in a holding pattern waiting to find out whether former Vice President Kamala Harris will launch a campaign.
Harris has largely kept quiet about her plans after her loss to President Donald Trump last November, while she talks with her friends and family about whether she wants to run for governor, launch a third run for the White House in 2028, or stay out of politics altogether, reported The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.
“It creates a little bit of a limbo situation,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who launched his campaign to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023.
He added that like him, Democrat hopefuls are taking to many of the same donors, but most of them have the same questions about whether Harris is going to run.
“We don’t know,” Thurmond said, adding that the candidates are telling potential donors.
Harris, who is already leading in many polls in the gubernatorial race, is expected to make her decision about running by the end of this summer.
And while other candidates in the race lack her name recognition and star power, Harris will also face several questions if she runs about her last-minute candidacy against Trump, what she knew about the decline of former President Joe Biden, and whether she wants to run for governor after running twice for the White House, albeit unsuccessfully.
Debbie Mesloh, a longtime Harris ally, said the former vice president is “looking closely [at] where is the best place to put her energy and focus and her time.”
Harris has made a few public appearances this year, including meeting with firefighters in Altadena, headlining a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in the Bay Area, and attending a Compton high school graduation. However, people are asking if it means anything that she skipped the Democratic Party convention or that her husband, Doug Emhoff, has accepted a job teaching at USC.
Harris has also canceled a two-week vacation planned for the end of this month, a person familiar with her plans confirmed.
Meanwhile, some gubernatorial campaigns say they do not feel like her winning is a foregone conclusion, as it may have been if she announced her plans in January after leaving Washington.
Former Biden Cabinet secretary Xavier Becerra, ex-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine are saying they will remain in the race no matter what Harris decides.
Veteran state Senate leader Toni Atkins of San Diego and former state controller Betty Yee have also said they’ll stay in the race even if Harris runs.
“While the vice president has her own path, our campaign is moving full speed ahead,” said Atkins.
Yee said she will stay in the race and is “leaning into my fiscal and financial background.”
She told The Times that potential donors are asking her how California can push back at Trump’s administration and about what her plans are if Harris decides to run.
But donors may not back Harris if she runs, as many are angry that she spent $1.5 billion in funds during her short campaign against Trump.
“The money is very, very upset with her,” gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck, a businessman and Democrat donor running for governor, commented. “They’re my friends. I’m part of that money. Everyone is thoroughly reeling.”
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