By Vice President Kamala Harris’ devastating loss to Donald Trump might not be the last of what Americans see of her, according to a report by Politico. She’s reportedly taking her time to chart a path forward, one that could redefine her legacy and impact the future of the Democratic Party, but intends to throw her hat in the ring somewhere.
She’s currently been spending her final months as vice president in Kalaoa, Hawaii.
Politico writes that privately, the vice president has been instructing advisers and allies to keep her options open — whether for a possible 2028 presidential run, or even to run for governor in her home state of California in two years. As Harris has repeated in phone calls, “I am staying in the fight.”
She is expected to explore those and other possible paths forward with family members over the winter holiday season, according to five people in the Harris inner circle, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. Her deliberations follow an extraordinary four months in which Harris went from President Joe Biden’s running mate to the top of the ticket, reenergizing Democrats before ultimately crashing on election night.
“She doesn’t have to decide if she wants to run for something again in the next six months,” said one former Harris campaign aide. “The natural thing to do would be to set up some type of entity that would give her the opportunity to travel and give speeches and preserve her political relationships.”
Most immediately, Harris and her advisers are working to define how and when she will speak out against Donald Trump and reassert her own role in the Democratic Party. Closing out her term as vice president, she’s set to preside over certifying the November election she lost to Trump, and then appear at the once-and-future president’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
If she does try to run for the Democratic nomination in 2028, explained Dan Turrentine, she won’t be coronated like she was this last time.
“I don’t think any Democrat fears her in 2028,” says @DanTurrentine of Kamala Harris’ prospects for running again. “Ronald Reagan ran three times, but each time he ran, he was the same candidate with pretty much the same message. And he kept building on his momentum. She has… pic.twitter.com/6VwIi2aTDi
— 2WAY (@2waytvapp) November 25, 2024
Scrutiny over Harris’s 2024 campaign finances further complicates her next steps. Her campaign spending over a billion dollars in just 15 weeks, coupled with abrupt layoffs among Democratic National Committee staffers, has raised concerns about the Democratic Party’s strategy and resource allocation. Critics within the party are questioning her decision to spend millions of dollars on celebrity endorsements, and she’s been roundly criticized for the way she campaigned, including her refusal to do interviews unless they were with her media allies, to whom she often threw campaign cash.
Despite the challenges, Harris enjoys a level of resilience and support that could bolster her in whatever path she chooses. Allies argue that her voice remains an important one in the Democratic Party, and there will likely be opportunities for her to re-establish herself as a leader on key issues.
Harris, holds the distinction of being the first Democrat in two decades to lose the popular vote in a presidential election. Her tenure in office was marked by persistent challenges in public perception, as her favorability ratings reached historic lows for a vice president during a similar time frame.
Before Joe Biden bowed of the presidential race, many Democrats called for him to replace Harris with someone else on the ticket. During most of her tenure, she was considered one of the most unpopular vice presidents in history.
Despite these hurdles, and her poor performance in the election, Harris appears to maintain a strong position within her party’s base. A post-election survey conducted by Echelon Insights placed her at forty-one percent in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic primary, far outpacing other prominent figures. California Governor Gavin Newsom garnered eight percent, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro received seven percent, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz trailed with six percent, among others. These results underscore Harris’s continued influence in Democratic politics, even amid broader challenges to her public image.
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