Kamala Harris's Political Future: California Gubernatorial Aspiration

Kamala's Eyes on California

Kamala Harris is planning to have a shot at the gubernatorial elections of California. Last year, she became the last-minute presidential candidate from the Democratic Party, because of Joe Biden's sudden withdrawal after the disastrous performance in the presidential debate with Donald Trump. She had the chance to be the first female president of the United States, as well as the second Black one, but she lost heavily against Donald Trump both in electoral college and popular vote, although the odds were in favor of her. Some people blame her moderate political stance that aimed at centrist voters during her presidential campaign, some others blame the ongoing inflation and overall disappointment from the Biden administration, while many people point out the influence of Elon Musk and his Twitter on voters. In the end, the results were a nightmare for Kamala Harris and the Democrats. Not just presidency, but also the control of the House and the Senate now belongs to the Republican Party. Kamala Harris could not carry any of the swing states, and even lost the ones where the voters voted for the Democratic senators, but not for the Democratic presidential candidate such as Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin,. Nonetheless, this disastrous defeat that she experienced does not seem to stop her. Since the end of the presidential elections, Kamala Harris warns her allies and advisers to get ready for a new fight while telling her friends that she is still "staying in the fight". It is very unlikely to see her in the next presidential elections, but it seems like her eyes are currently on the gubernatorial elections of California which will take place on November 3rd, 2026. But the actual question is, does Kamala Harris have a chance to become the next Governor of California?

The state of California is a solid blue progressive state which means whoever gets the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial elections will likely to be get elected as the next Governor of California. The Republican candidate has almost no chance on winning at gubernatorial elections in this state. Therefore, the race for the office of governor in California is mostly a race that takes place inside of the Democratic Party primaries. The top two contenders for the governorship from the Democratic Party are the incumbent Lieutenant Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis and the former Democratic senator Katie Porter. Eleni Kounalakis was getting ready for the last two years and she was the first person to declare candidacy in this race. Furthermore, she also got the endorsement from major political names in the Democratic Party, such as the former Secretary of State and the presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, she cannot get more than 10% in any opinion poll. Katie Porter, who is a very left-wing progressive politician, seems has more chance to win this election as she beats Kounalakis in every poll. However, since February, the opinion polls from started to include Kamala Harris in their polls, and it turns out that Harris easily wins the nomination with a great margin against all of her opponents, including Kounalakis and Porter. Moreover, both of Eleni Kounalakis and Katie Porter declared that they would withdraw from the race if Kamala Harris will join it. In other words, all of the serious contenders from the Democratic Party accept the nomination of Kamala Harris for the gubernatorial race of California and allow her to become the next governor of California without facing any challenge.

Kamala Harris still did not officially declare her candidacy for this gubernatorial race, but at the end of this summer, she is expected to start her campaign. According to a recent opinion poll from Emerson College, half of the Californians, regardless of their political orientation, believe she should race for this position, while the other half is definitely opposing her candidacy. Kamala Harris might have lost her chance of being the first female head of the federal executive of the United States last year, but this time, she has definitely a way greater chance to become the first female head of the state executive of California. Still in the eyes of many Democratic voters, she is a well-experienced politician that will finally get the position she deserves in politics, at least on a state level.

Works Cited

April 2025 California Poll: Harris Leads Hypothetical Gubernatorial Primary, 50% of Voters Think She Should Not Run. 17 April 2025. 21 April 2025. <https://emersoncollegepolling.com/april-2025-california-poll-harris-leads-hypothetical-gubernatorial-primary-50-of-voters-think-she-should-not-run/>.

Cadelago, Christopher. Eleni Kounalakis First to Launch Campaign for California Governor in 2026. 24 April 2023. 21 April 2025. <https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/24/eleni-kounalakis-campaign-california-governor-2026-00093381>.

Cadelago, Christopher and Eugene Daniels. Kamala Harris Sets a Deadline for Her Next Move. 3 July 2025. 21 April 2025. <https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/07/kamala-harris-california-governor-decision-deadline-00216737>.

Cadelago, Christopher and Eugene Daniels. Harris is Telling Her Advisers and Allies to Keep Her Political Options Open. 11 November 2024. 21 April 2025. <https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/25/kamala-harris-advisers-options-open-00191393>.

Rosenhall, Laurel. Hillary Clinton Backs Eleni Kounalakis for California Governor. 25 May 2023. 21 April 2025. <https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-25/hillary-clinton-backs-eleni-kounalakis-for-california-governor>.

Rosenhall, Laurel. Katie Porter Will Run for California Governor. 11 March 2025. 21 April 2025. <https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/us/politics/katie-porter-california-governor.html>.

Stenfeld, Marc. Kamala Harris Dominates in California Governor's Race Poll. 17 April 2025. 21 April 2025. <https://ktla.com/news/california/harris-holds-lead-in-hypothetical-california-governor-race-poll-shows/>.

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