Democrats eye Harris 2028 presidential run as they devise political comeback | The Guardian
Democrats eye Harris 2028 presidential run as they devise political comeback | The Guardian
Party aides are confident in US vice-president’s ability to bounce back, including a bid for California governor
Democrats eye Harris 2028 presidential run as they devise political comeback
Party aides are confident in US vice-president’s ability to bounce back, including a bid for California governor emocratic party aides have begun to float ideas for a Kamala Harris political comeback, reportedly eyeing another run at the US’s highest office even as the party continues to grapple with the electoral messages contained in the vice-president’s decisive defeat in November’s White House race against Donald Trump.
Harris, who has reportedly not ruled out a second run for the presidency, is now reported to be considering a run for the California governorship, currently held until 2027 by Gavin Newsom. Newsom was a rumoured presidential contender during the chaotic summer that saw Joe Biden step down from a rematch with Trump – whom he defeated in the 2020 election – and then endorse Harris as his replacement.
According to the Washington Post on Monday, some Democratic party aides believe Trump – who, among other things, overcame a criminal conviction and other such charges to win – has sufficiently overturned the norms of losing White House candidates’ not attempting a second bite at the proverbial apple to give Harris the opportunity of a repeat bid in 2028, this time for the full cycle.
“Since Donald Trump has rewritten the rules – the norms – I don’t believe Kamala Harris or anyone should try to go with precedent, ever,” said Donna Brazile, a Harris ally, Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign manager and political commentator. “There are no rule books.”
Molly Murphy, a pollster who worked on the both the Biden and Harris campaigns, told the outlet: “The rules potentially don’t apply this time, and she still absolutely could have a mulligan because of the unique circumstances of this race and the candidate switch.
“But I don’t think it will be a given.”
The sentiment that Harris could make another bid for the White House comes as the Democratic party is sculpting an argument that her loss to Trump was not as comprehensive as has been popularly portrayed. She emerged from her three-month, $1.5bn campaign with higher approval ratings than she entered it, according to the political website 538, though she lost the electoral college 312-226 and became the first of three candidates to lose the popular vote to Trump.
“She is ending this race in a very different place than other nominees that have lost,” one Harris adviser told the outlet. “Her approval is higher. People were very happy with the race that she ran.”
Supporters further point to unequal political consequences for male and female candidates following a ballot box loss. Hillary Clinton did not attempt another run after losing to Trump in 2016, handing the Democratic torch to one-term president Biden.
Debbie Walsh, director of the center for American women and politics at Rutgers University, told the Post, “landing in general has kind of been harder for women”, noting that women who served at state level positions “don’t get the soft landing of a position in a law firm that allows them to regroup and earn some money and maybe run for something else. They struggle a bit.”
But as Harris considers her future – husband Doug Emhoff is returning to entertainment law – donors and supporters in California, where she served as a US senator and state attorney general, are pushing for a run for governor in 2026 to replace who would then be the outgoing, term-limited Newsom.
“The people that drove that conversation – within 18 minutes of the election being called – was the finance team,” one Harris confidante told the outlet.
If Harris, who beat Trump by 20 points in California, runs for and wins the governorship, she would become the nation’s first Black female governor, a considerable consolation prize.
But other Democrats are also considering both races. For president, Newsom as well as fellow governors JB Pritzker of Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan are said to be getting into position.
Harris campaign aides acknowledge the competition but say her name recognition, coupled with donors and experience as well as a conviction that she was dragged by Biden’s unpopularity, opens the starting gate for a comeback.
It’s almost Shakespearean that Joe Biden didn’t just kill his own campaign – he killed hers, too,” a Harris campaign adviser told the Post.
Meanwhile, California congresswoman Katie Porter, a potential state governor candidate, diplomatically told the outlet: “I am certain that everyone will want to support Kamala Harris in continuing to serve this country.”
Harris herself has not revealed her thinking but is said to be “processing” her loss and plans to “stay in the fight”.
“The fight that fueled our campaign – a fight for freedom and opportunity – that did not end on November 5,” Harris said on a call with donors and supporters in November.
Harris ultimately used the word “fight” 19 times during that call.
People: Healthcare pls
Republicans: You'll die poor and cold and you will like it
Democrats: Maybe if we had a different coloured hat or a different slogan we could have won? Let's run the same thing again with superficial changes
Truly one of the nations of all time
what the fuck is wrong with these people?
Uhh. Are they expecting her to win the Primary, or are they just going to not have one again?
Ah, the perfect strategy to appeal to the common person and help shed the 'out of touch coastal elites' perception of the Dems:
Everything revolves around soulless, corporate Californian politicians with no actual beliefs.
New Democratic Party Slogan:
🤩 California Uber Alles! 😛
Also, wtf Harris' campaign cost 1.5 billion dollars now?
... sigh ...
I love how they have the chick who did Gores campaign helping run the campaign. Like… if you lose every campaign you help run why would anyone think you’re a good addition to the team?
Also this is idiotic. Why the fuck would the dems run Harris again? Run a fucking primary at the very least you fucking idiots.
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF YOUR LIFE. BLOMPF WILL END ELECTIONS. DEMOCRACY WILL BE DEAD AND AMERICA WILL BE OVER. YOU WILL ALL DIE, BE PUT INTO GAY CONCENTRATION CAMPS, OR BE FORCED TO BIRTH BABIES FOR THE WORKFORCE IF DRUMPF WINS anyway c ya vote for me next time tho thx
Bro they’re funny
According to the Washington Post on Monday, some Democratic party aides believe Trump – who, among other things, overcame a criminal conviction and other such charges to win – has sufficiently overturned the norms of losing White House candidates’ not attempting a second bite at the proverbial apple to give Harris the opportunity of a repeat bid in 2028, this time for the full cycle.
oh so they're stupid...
Can't believe the Dem Party can't square 'why did Trump lose 2020' with 'why did Kamala lose 2024' and understand that running Kamala again is literally like shooting yourself in the foot.
The dems' whole goal is to move the country to right in a way that liberals will applaud. They are the moderate wing of fascism and you WILL have your girlboss genocidaire and no, you WILL NOT get healthcare.
It's her turn
Harris, who has reportedly not ruled out a second run for the presidency
Memoryholing 2020, when she was one of the leest favorite ghouls
We're living in a parody at this point, and I am dead inside
The democrats must want to lose at this point
They realise that they only got so much funding because of Trump, right? Not Harris? That next time they won't get nearly as much support because Trump won't be running. It's like they're so disconnected from reality that they can only look at meaningless graphs and charts to determine their decisions.
There is no fucking way
This is too funny.
Alexa! What's the definition of insanity?
Lmao
The screen writers for America are getting very lazy. We want new characters and instead they keep giving screen time to characters who already have completed arcs. Whats the point of having the Biden Admin fail catastrophically (the pres has his brain melt and the VP looses spectacularly) only to then have them stick around? Same goes for Trump tbh. He's lost most of his energy and sauce.
We've tried nothing that works and we're all out of ideas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2028_United_States_presidential_election#Democratic_Party
who is the least evil out of these options?
if this is the primary, who would your money be on to win?
DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT
Hopefully this is just to sell books and get paid for speeches/media appearances...
Truly, first time as Tragedy, second time as Farce.
We really need a new party. First they sold out Bernie, then Hilary lost to Trump, Biden became senile in office, then they ran the most boring campaign with Harris and lost to Trump. And after all that, their idea is to run her again?? I might just start voting for Republicans until a viable new party that is left of Republicans shows up.
I fucking called it, she's failing upward all the way to the moon
