Failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ grand political comeback could be over before it even gets started.
And the disinterest in her is coming from within her own party.
(Which isn’t to say the GOP hasn’t taken its fair share of shots at Harris following her humbling November loss.)
According to various reports for some time now, Harris has largely been connected to the soon-to-be vacant governorship in California. With Gavin Newsom being term-limited, many felt that being governor of such a prominent state would be Harris’ quickest path back to political relevancy.
A Sunday report from The New York Times is throwing some cold water on those feelings.
The key Times takeaway: “As Democrats nationally grapple with how to rebound from last year’s presidential and congressional losses, the possibility of Ms. Harris entering the governor’s race has prompted some trepidation for party members in California.”
That’s bad news for a former vice president trying to galvanize support for both herself and the broader party.
Harris, who did herself no favors by only phoning into a recent Democratic gathering in Anaheim, California, instead of showing up in person, appears to have an “elitism” problem, at least with some of the delegates at that convention.
“I don’t think she should get into the campaign for governor,” one San Diego delegate said. “The working class would say, ‘Oh there she is again, she has the support of the elites.’”
Do you think Kamala Harris will run for president again?
Even those generally still supportive of Harris had some issues with the former vice president’s own apparent apathy.
“I wonder where her priorities are, and where she’s at right now,” a Santa Cruz delegate told the Times. “I do support her and think that she’s great, but right now I have more questions than answers.”
Even opinions among Harris’ peers and fellow gubernatorial hopefuls had mixed feelings on the candidate.
One candidate, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, is actually expected to drop out of the race, should Harris formalize her candidacy.
Of note, Kounalakis is described as “a longtime friend and supporter” of Harris.
Other gubernatorial hopefuls, meanwhile, have been a bit more scathing when assessing their fellow Democrat, particularly when it comes to who knew what, and whether anyone was complicit in the cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s noticeable and aggressive health decline.
“What did Kamala Harris and [Biden’s health and human services secretary] Xavier Becerra know, when did they know it, and most importantly, why didn’t either of them speak out?” Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor, said in a statement.
Another delegate from Orange, California, meanwhile, was still left reeling with just how poorly Harris and the Democrats ran their 2024 presidential campaign.
“It just feels like they didn’t have a good game plan,” he said.
Harris has yet to formalize her next steps after leaving the White House. She has given herself until the end of the summer to make a final decision on her reported gubernatorial aspirations, according to Politico.
Some Donkey Party South Carolinians “went so far as to suggest that a run for California governor could offer a graceful exit from the national stage,” according to the left-leaning political outlet.
But some California Democrats worried about just that, fearing that the California governorship could be “simply a fallback option for Harris after her presidential ambitions were thwarted last year,” the left-leaning political news outlet reported.
“We haven’t really heard from her on California issues since Trump’s inauguration,” Shasta County delegate Madison Zimmerman told Politico. “I feel like California isn’t a consolation prize.”
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