Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday she would not run for California governor in 2026, ending months of speculation that she might.
In a statement posted on X, Harris, who was defeated by President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, wrote: “In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor. I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election.”
She added: “For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office.
“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.”
Harris’s decision follows a long period of uncertainty about her next steps following November’s defeat.
Those close to the former vice president said she had been quietly staging a political return. Some claimed she wanted to enter the 2026 gubernatorial contest, while others said she was laying the groundwork for a third White House run.
Harris’s lack of definite answers, until now, had put the California contest on hold as candidates and deep-pocketed donors waited for her to make a move.
“Vice President Harris’s decision to not enter the California Governor’s race should not be a surprise,” Jeff Le, former deputy Cabinet secretary to Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown, told the Washington Examiner.
“She largely spent months away from the spotlight in a will she, won’t she holding pattern that froze gubernatorial aspirants for months. The Vice President had not aggressively done the comprehensive donor and stakeholder canvassing necessary to galvanize support for a state of almost 40 million constituents, a sign of political uncertainty.
“While the Vice President’s name ID and national exposure had put her at the top of California polls, it was also clear that many of the candidates were not going to defer to her, including former Representative Katie Porter and former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who declared staying in the race regardless of the VP’s decision.”
Veteran Democratic strategist Sean Clegg, a longtime adviser to Harris, told the Los Angeles Times that Harris had weighed a gubernatorial run but decided her next chapter would be focused on other political pursuits.
“I think she listened to her gut. … Obviously, she saw a huge opportunity, so she had to consider it, but at the end of the day, she just didn’t feel called,” said Clegg, who has worked on Harris’s campaigns since 2008. “Until January of this year … she’s been in public office continuously for 22 years and has spent her entire career since she graduated law school in public service. I think she’s interested in exploring how she can have an impact from the outside for a while.”
Harris has purportedly written a memoir and is considering starting a nonprofit group focused on young voters.
Harris became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee after former President Joe Biden dropped out following a disastrous debate performance against Trump and a pressure campaign from senior Democrats to step aside.
Although Harris’s campaign debuted to a wave of enthusiasm, she was handily beaten by Trump in November after blowing through $1.5 billion in 15 weeks. The campaign dished out large sums of money on advertising, social media influencers, staff, celebrity concerts, drone shows, and a town hall featuring Oprah Winfrey.
For all the time, money, and effort, Harris had very little to show for it. She became the first Democratic presidential candidate to lose the national popular vote in two decades, falling to Trump in every battleground state.
She spent the first seven months of 2025 settling back into her Brentwood, California, home with husband Doug Emhoff.
“Losses are hard in politics,” Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist who served as senior adviser to Harris and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), told the Washington Examiner. “People put their lives on hold to serve and to run, and she deserves the opportunity to rest, clear her head, and decide what she thinks is best — for herself, for the people of California, for the people of this country, and for her family, for that matter.”
Had Harris decided to run for governor of California, it wouldn’t have been as easy a win as some believed. She was known as a progressive hero, but when she ran for president, she started to shy away from some of her more extreme positions, quietly erasing her record and turning herself into a centrist Democrat because she thought it would make her more electable. She publicly changed her mind on fracking, border security, the Green New Deal, and taxes on tips.
The former vice president would have also opened herself up to questions about her 107-day sprint to the White House, what she knew about Biden’s declining health, and whether someone who had run unsuccessfully for president twice really wanted to be California’s governor.
She also would have inherited a difficult budget situation brought on by fiscal mismanagement and multibillion-dollar gaps due to a flurry of spending by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
Wednesday’s announcement did not rule out a third run for the White House. If she decided to get into the 2028 race, she would undoubtedly face a competitive Democratic field that could include California’s current governor.
