August 22, 2024: Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center.
Sacramento, California – Kamala Harris is seriously considering a run for California governor in 2026, according to multiple sources familiar with her thinking, marking what could be a dramatic return to statewide politics less than a year after her loss in the 2024 presidential election.
Though there’s no word on her final decision, those close to the former vice president say Harris is giving the idea strong consideration, viewing it as a chance to reengage with public service and California’s political future.
The path is far from simple. Harris would enter a race already crowded with recognizable names, including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, both of whom have longstanding ties to the state’s political machinery. Despite early polling that gives her an edge—an April Emerson College survey found 50 percent of California Democrats would support her candidacy—her standing in the state is more complicated than the numbers suggest.
A low public profile in California has marked Harris’s post-vice presidency. She has primarily operated outside the state’s immediate political landscape, appearing at international summits, donor galas, and high-profile weddings, while remaining silent on key events back home, including January’s devastating wildfires and, more recently, protests over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles. Her critics, including some within her party, question whether she has stayed connected to the Californians she once represented as senator and attorney general.
“She doesn’t come into this as an 800-pound gorilla,” said Garry South, a longtime Democratic strategist in California. “There are real mixed feelings about her.”
Some of those mixed feelings stem from persistent Republican efforts to paint her as complicit in concealing President Biden’s cognitive decline. Villaraigosa, now a potential rival, has already amplified those attacks, pressing Harris and Becerra to explain what they knew during Biden’s reelection campaign. Such questions could linger into the gubernatorial race.
Still, Harris is reportedly holding to a self-imposed end-of-summer deadline to decide. A July break may offer space for reflection, though many believe she must soon reintroduce herself to a state where the political terrain—and public expectations—have shifted.
