Senior Democrats aren’t ruling out Kamala Harris as a 2028 presidential candidate. But not all of them are fully behind the idea either.
It is a delicate balancing act for party leaders. Some want to show respect for the outgoing vice president, but also share a sense of skepticism about her future prospects. Others are genuinely excited about her candidacy and think she lost because President Joe Biden simply dropped out of the race too late.
“I would be 100 percent behind whatever she decides to do. I think she’s a phenomenal person. I think she was a phenomenal candidate,” said Democratic National Committee executive panel member Yvette Lewis. “We were able to turn things around so quickly, and that’s a testament to her.”
At a meeting of DNC members last week, no party officials outright rejected the idea of a new Harris campaign, and some said they were willing to support her if she ran again.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington Democratic Party who was also at the event, said, “I was certainly so proud to support her and would love to do it again.”
But, she added, the 2028 presidential primaries will be “an open process,” meaning Harris would face competition if she were to run again.
Outside of the DNC meeting, some Democrats in battleground and red states are openly exploring the possibility.
“LOL. I don’t think anyone is asking for a third Harris presidential campaign,” says Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist Tommy McDonald. “Democrats need to build a party that can play anywhere, and Harris couldn’t win on a narrow card.”
Harris, who on Tuesday encouraged her supporters to “stay in the fight” in one of her first major speeches since the election, is debating her next move. That could mean trying to run for president again, running for governor of California in 2026, or leaving the campaign trail behind but remaining politically active. The fact that she retains the support of the national party helps explain why she has instructed advisers to keep her options open even after Democrats lost the presidency by the largest margin in decades, forfeited the Senate and were out of office succeeded in taking back the House of Representatives. the top of the card.
People close to Harris, who are granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, believe she has time to make a decision about her future. But she will likely have to start charting a path forward relatively soon, possibly sometime in 2025, when California’s gubernatorial race will be in full swing. Many Democrats believe she would leave the field if she sought the governor’s seat.
Some donors and advisers have expressed interest in her pursuit of a governorship bid, including at recent receptions she hosted and even during her concession speech at Howard University, a former senior aide to Harris said.
At the same time, Harris is the early front-runner in the 2028 presidential primaries. Post-election polls show her as the top choice for Democratic voters, with a lead of more than 30 percentage points over her next opponent. Opinion polls from this far are unreliable, but Harris is in a significantly stronger position than Biden at this point in 2016.
Harris’ advisers and allies believe she has run a strong campaign, earning 75 million votes, increasing her popularity, breaking fundraising records and narrowing the election gap they say she , inherited from Biden.
Biden only resigned after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump in June forced him out of the race. That left Harris with only about 100 days to campaign.
Harris’ allies argue that the shorter time frame gave her no real chance to introduce herself to American voters. Harris’ former senior aide said she had not reached “her ceiling” of support as a result.
Biden World believes larger forces played a role in her loss. A Biden adviser said Harris “ran a phenomenal race,” but quoted from a New York Times article and argued that the biggest reason Trump won was “the long tail of the pandemic” that hurt incumbents around the world .
A second top adviser to Harris said the vice president has not yet begun discussions with her aides about her way forward.
“She is currently wrapping up her vice presidential duties,” the person said, “and then discussions about her future plans will take place.”
Harris is expected to spend the holidays considering her next steps with her family, people in her inner circle previously told POLITICO. She also wants to conduct her own personal autopsy on the presidential race as she determines what to do next, a person familiar with her thinking said.
In some ways, it is not surprising that party loyalists are at least entertaining the prospect of once again supporting their most recent standard-bearer as president. But the possibility of a new Harris campaign poses a conundrum for Democrats after the vice president lost every swing state, the popular vote and key parts of the party’s base to Trump. She is also part of an unpopular government widely associated with inflation and a border crisis.
In any case, that some Democrats are warming to the possibility of a new Harris candidacy underlines that a contingent in the party blames Biden — or short-lived global anti-incumbent forces — more than Harris for her loss.
Depending on what ultimately happens, the 2028 Democratic primary could demonstrate Trump’s ability to upend long-standing traditions not only in his own party, but also those of his opponents. In 2016, Trump’s victory expanded the idea of who was qualified to campaign for president, giving Democrats such as then-South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and little-known entrepreneur Andrew Yang the opportunity to run for the White House. With Trump returning to power after being impeached in 2020, expectations that losing nominees will be barred from running for office could be undermined.
And a Harris run wouldn’t be entirely unprecedented: Richard Nixon, who was also a senator and vice president of California, captured the White House in 1968 after running and losing in 1960. He also suffered a gubernatorial defeat in 1962. Former President Grover Cleveland also won two non-consecutive terms.
Christine Pelosi, a member of the DNC executive committee and daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), wore a pro-Harris scarf around her neck during the party’s national meeting on Friday. She praised the vice president and suggested she somehow had a political future ahead of her.
“I am very proud of the campaign she has run and the work she has done,” she said. “And I think she’s young. She has a lot to say.”
Pelosi said she has spoken directly to Harris about her next steps, and that “she wants to be a voice” in the party. She encouraged Harris to work to protect the achievements Biden and Democrats have made.
“I think she should do what she wants to do, which is go through the tape now and then pick two or three issues, starting with health care, and say, ‘We’re going to monitor this change.’ she said.
A new Harris candidacy could divide Democrats. Corbin Trent, a Tennessee-based operative who has advised progressive politicians, responded to the possibility of a runoff with a vomit emoji.
The 2028 primaries are also likely to be a busy one, with a long list of Democratic talent eager to run for the White House. That would be a departure from this year, when leading Democratic governors and senators sat on the sidelines after Biden exited the race.
“It’s going to be more difficult if the vice president wants to come back in four years and be the nominee,” said Clay Middleton, a longtime Democratic operative and former aide to Biden’s 2024 campaign. “The field won’t be clear. That just won’t be the case.”
