Kamala Harris for California governor? These Democrats say she’s best choice to fight Trump
Kamala Harris has plenty of options for her future if she chooses to remain in politics—and some of her supporters want to draft her to run for California governor in 2026.
If the vice president does choose to run, Harris would join a crowded field that already includes Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Senate leader Toni Atkins, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and nearly a dozen other rumored and confirmed candidates.
“I think she’d be by far the best governor candidate for the state of California,” said Michael Preston, who previously worked for Harris when she was state attorney general.
Since losing the presidential election to Donald Trump, Harris has privately told aides she wants to keep her political options open and that she is “staying in the fight,” according to Politico.
Preston has not kept in contact with Harris since her rise to the Senate in 2017 and vice presidency four years later, but he and his teacher husband, Michael Meyers, recently co-wrote a blog post titled “Come Home, Kamala, to Become Governor of California.”
They argue Harris has several unique qualifications for the position, which will be open due to term limits on Gov. Gavin Newsom.
First, she knows how to take on President-elect Trump — good experience for whoever wants to take up the mantle of leading California’s “resistance” to the Republican leader.
“Yes, she lost, but she fought him really hard,” Preston said in an interview. “She lost the election. She won the debate.”
Trump’s plans to limit immigration and deport undocumented people could roil California’s economy and he has repeatedly threatened to withhold wildfire aid from the state.
“He seems to be bent on revenge and California needs somebody with the stature and the gravitas to stand up to him,” Preston said.
He also believes Harris will stand up to what he describes as a crop of “malignant billionaires” he contends are increasingly trying to influence policy in California.
While he declined to name anyone specifically, he could be talking about Elon Musk, who said he would withdraw business operations from the state after lawmakers and Newsom signed a law banning schools from outting transgender children to their parents.
Trump has tasked Musk, a billionaire businessman, and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy with running a new federal “Department of Government Efficiency.”
“Of all the people who could possibly run, Kamala Harris is the only one I know who’s on the same level to push back against those billionaires who threaten a lot of California public policy,” he said.
Preston and Meyers argue California stands to benefit from pieces of the economic platform Harris used during her presidential run, including a push to build more homes.
“Building 3 million new houses across the country very much reflects the reality of California and reflects the fact that she grew up here and understands the problem with our housing crisis,” Preston said. “It’s a goal that perfectly transitions to California to become a centerpiece of her run for governor.”
A recent poll by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies showed Harris would have a strong advantage if she joined the race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom due to her name ID.
One in three voters said they would be very likely to consider voting for Harris if she ran for governor. Another 13% said they would be somewhat likely to support her.
“If Vice President Harris were to run, she would have an important advantage as she is by far the best known of the potential candidates,” said IGS co-director Eric Schickler.
Running for governor may have previously been of interest for Harris: her statewide fundraising account she used during attorney general campaigns was later renamed “Harris for Governor 2026.”
The committee was terminated in 2018, records show, and the remaining funds — a little more than $1 million — were used to pay attorney fees and distributed to various nonprofits around California.
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Kamala Harris for California governor? These Democrats say she’s best choice to fight Trump."
