Newsom and Harris both position themselves as potential 2028 White House contenders
In recent interviews, California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris have both hinted at the possibility of running for the presidency in 2028, igniting speculation about the future of the Democratic Party. In a candid conversation with CBS News, Newsom acknowledged that he would be “lying” if he said he hadn’t considered a presidential run, particularly after the 2026 midterms. He reflected on his academic struggles, sharing a personal anecdote about his low SAT score and his ongoing challenges with reading scripts, emphasizing that his journey in politics defies the odds. Newsom’s comments come amid ongoing discussions about the Democratic leadership landscape, especially following the tumultuous 2024 election cycle that saw President Joe Biden’s potential exit from the race, raising questions about who will emerge as the party’s standard-bearer.
Harris echoed a similar sentiment in an interview with the BBC, affirming her commitment to public service and leaving the door open for a presidential bid. She expressed confidence that her grandnieces would see a female president in their lifetime, suggesting that she could be that leader. Despite being labeled an outsider in early polling for the 2028 race, Harris dismissed these numbers, stating that she has historically ignored polling data when making political decisions. Both leaders are seen as key figures in the Democratic Party’s future, especially as they navigate the challenges posed by former President Trump and the party’s search for a unifying candidate. The backdrop of their potential candidacies is a party grappling with internal divisions and the need for fresh leadership in the wake of Biden’s presidency.
As the political landscape evolves, Newsom’s and Harris’s statements indicate a readiness to step into the national spotlight, potentially shaping the Democratic Party’s direction in the coming years. Their past experiences and current roles position them as influential players in the 2028 race, especially as they confront the legacy of Trump and the pressing issues facing the nation. With both leaders holding significant political clout in California—a state often viewed as a bellwether for Democratic policies—their decisions in the coming years could have profound implications for the party and its electoral strategy. As they keep their options open, the political world watches closely, eager to see how this narrative unfolds leading up to 2028.
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California Democrat Gov.
Gavin Newsom
and former Vice President Kamala Harris both remarked in the past few days that they’re keeping their options open for potential 2028 presidential runs.
“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom told ”
CBS News Sunday Morning
” when asked if he would give “serious thought” to a 2028 presidential run after the 2026 midterms. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.”
“I have no idea,” Newsom said of whether he would decide to run, adding that he has not let academic struggles from across his life prevent him from working to ascend the political ladder. “The idea that a guy who got 960 on his SAT, that still struggles to read scripts, that was always in the back of the classroom, the idea that you would even throw that out is, in and of itself, extraordinary. Who the hell knows? I’m looking forward to who presents themselves in 2028 and who meets that moment. And that’s the question for the American people.”
Newsom long has been floated as a likely Democrat nominee for the presidency, most notably after the unprecedented 2024 race when President Joe Biden dropped out of the running amid heightened concerns over his mental acuity, and then-Vice President Harris took up the mantle in his absence. President
Donald Trump
ultimately swept the seven battleground states and won the popular vote and the Electoral College.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM REVEALS WHEN HE’LL START THINKING ABOUT A POTENTIAL 2028 RUN
Harris also left the door open to a potential 2028 presidential run while speaking with the BBC in an interview that aired Saturday. Harris is a longtime California Democrat who has served as San Francisco district attorney, the California attorney general, and a U.S. senator representing California before ascending the political landscape as the nation’s vice president in 2021.
“I am not done,” Harris told the British outlet. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones.”
Harris said during the interview that her grandnieces would see the first female president “in their lifetime, for sure,” and that she could “possibly” be that woman,
according to the BBC
.
Harris brushed off polling that shows her as a 2028 Democrat outsider, saying during the interview that she historically has not listened to polling data.
KAMALA HARRIS TO PUBLISH BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCOUNT OF FAILED 2024 CAMPAIGN
“If I listened to polls I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”
The 2024 presidential
election
threw the Democrat Party into a tailspin as it continues searching for its next de facto leader. Harris published a memoir in September detailing her 107 days on the campaign trail after Biden dropped out of the race, which included a handful of shots at the former president that has caused rifts within the party to grow deeper as it looks for fresh leadership.
KAMALA HARRIS’ MAJOR CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCEMENT TRIGGERS CIRCULAR DEM FIRING SQUAD
Both Newsom and Harris are longtime political foes of Trump, who has railed against both of them for promoting left-wing West Coast policies.
Trump, who is term limited and in the midst of his second presidency, welcomed a potential Newsom presidential run back in May, but said the California high-speed rail project intended to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles would prevent him from proceeding in a presidential race.
“I would love him to run for president,” he said. “I’d love to see that, but I don’t think he’s going to be running because that one project alone — well, that, and the fires and a lot of other things — pretty much put him out of the race.”
The “one project alone” refers to the high-speed rail project that has been plagued by delays and increased costs, with the Trump administration pulling the funding plug on the project in July.
Fox News Digital reached out to the respective offices of Newsom and Harris Monday morning for additional comment on their 2028 remarks and has yet to receive replies.
Eric
Eric is a seasoned journalist covering US Politics news.
