Editorial: Harris bows out and leaves a weak field for governor race

August 5, 2025 By Editorial Board 2 Comments

Kamala Harris’ Democratic colleagues and Republican opponents are no doubt thrilled that the former vice president announced that she would not be running for California’s governor. Given her name ID, she would have been the front-runner to replace Gavin Newsom whatever her merits and demerits. The race had been effectively on hold awaiting her decision—and now other candidates can get moving.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

As senator, Harris governed as a mainstream liberal. As AG, she largely held a finger in the wind. She often did the bidding of the police unions—and then tried to depict herself as a progressive criminal-justice reformer when that looked like a winning position. We found her tiresome. We would have expected Harris’ governorship to be similar to Newsom’s—not a compliment.

With its myriad problems—a homelessness and housing crisis, crumbling infrastructure, wildfire and water challenges—California is desperately in need of innovative, market-oriented ideas. Harris would not have provided them, but the remaining field doesn’t inspire much confidence. The primary is in June, so kudos to Harris for providing time for a boisterous race.

Attention will focus on the Democratic candidates, as no Republican has won the governorship (or any statewide office) since Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. GOP statewide candidates are lucky to break 40%. With the top-two primary, it’s not even a certainly a Republican will make it into the general election.

The Democratic field is, to put it kindly, underwhelming. Candidates include establishment figures, ideologues and has-beens. Of the former, there’s Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Controller Betty Yee and former legislative leader Toni Atkins. Kounalakis and Yee haven’t established any distinctive positions. Atkins is progressive, but with a reputation for personal graciousness. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is a mouthpiece for teachers’ unions.

In the has-been camp, there’s former AG Xavier Becerra and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Becerra was a constant embarrassment and mouthpiece for police unions. Villaraigosa took some praiseworthy positions, such as his support for educational choice, but a lot has changed since he was a political powerhouse.

Katie Porter, the former Orange County representative, is the field’s highest-profile ideologue. Every Democrat will promote high tax, big-government policies. It’s a matter of degree, with Porter likely to be the most aggressive in, say, embracing single-payer healthcare and “battling” corporate interests.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Will she or won’t she? The California governor’s race waits on Kamala Harris

July 17, 2025 By Laura J. Nelson and Seema Mehta 3 Comments
  • Since leaving Washington in January, Kamala Harris has mostly stayed out of the public eye, talking to close friends and confidantes about whether to leave politics, run for governor or run for president for a third time.
  • Harris is expected to make a decision about whether to enter the 2026 gubernatorial race by the end of summer.

The Democrats running for California governor have spent the spring and summer working to win over the powerful donors and interest groups who could help them squeak through a competitive primary election.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

But the candidates, and many deep-pocketed Democrats, are still waiting for the decision that will have the biggest impact on the race: whether former Vice President Kamala Harris is running.

Since Harris lost to President Trump in November, the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom has been in suspended animation, with candidates trying to plan their campaigns without knowing who their biggest opponents will be. A few are making contingency plans to run for other offices. And some major donors are waiting to write big checks.

“It creates a little bit of a limbo situation,” said Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction who launched his gubernatorial campaign in 2023.

The Democrats in the race are talking to many of the same potential donors, Thurmond said, and most have the same question: “Is she going to run?” The only answer, Thurmond said, is an unsatisfying one: “We don’t know.”

Since leaving Washington in January, Harris has mostly stayed out of the public eye, settling back into her Brentwood home with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and talking to close friends and confidantes about what she should do next. She is weighing whether to leave politics, run for governor or run for president for a third time. She is expected to make a decision about the gubernatorial race by the end of summer.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

‘No One Is Incredibly Pumped’ About Kamala Harris Running for Governor

July 1, 2025 By Jim Geraghty 1 Comment

This year I’ve emphasized a recurring point in the Morning Jolt and elsewhere that Kamala Harris, an alleged potential candidate to be the next governor of California, doesn’t seem all that focused on, or interested in, state issues. And it’s not exactly been a quiet year for the Golden State — wildfires burning down a chunk of Los Angeles, riots and urban unrest, a predictable budget crisis, etcetera. The fact that Harris isn’t talking much about state issues makes it hard to believe that she is filled with burning desire to run the state government’s executive branch for four to eight years.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Politico notes, to no one’s surprise, that in the circles of California’s big-time Democratic donors, “No one is incredibly pumped.”

In interviews, several major donors in the state told POLITICO they fear her reemergence as a candidate would re-open still-fresh wounds from her defeat in 2024. Some harbor lingering frustration about how her billion-dollar campaign juggernaut ended in debt and want assurances she would have a clear plan to win the governor’s mansion. Others are impatient for Harris to start publicly making her case for why she’d want the job.

One California Democrat who contributed six-figures to her presidential bid said a Harris candidacy would only serve as a reminder of how “traumatizing” the last election was.

“Kamala just reminds you we are in this complete s*** storm. With Biden, we got bamboozled. . . .  I think she did the best she could in that situation, but obviously she knew about the cognitive decline too,” the donor said. “I’ve written so many checks because I knew the Trump administration would be horrible, but we’re living in a nightmare because of the Democrats. I’m furious at them, truly.”

Deeper in the article, there’s this curious detail:

Harris is sticking with her late-summer deadline, though she has put a finer point on her season of decision-making. One key milestone is a planned July vacation — her first getaway since leaving office — where allies hope some time away to decompress and tune out will help clarify her thinking. [Emphasis added.]

Her first vacation since leaving office? What has she been doing? Because it hasn’t been making many public appearances, doing a single interview, or attending the California Democratic Party convention. She’s been about as accessible as J. D. Salinger, which is something of an odd choice if you want to win a gubernatorial primary held on June 2, 2026.

Then, in the 31st paragraph, Politico mentions:

She is keenly interested in how supporters are feeling and what their top concerns are for the state, where she hasn’t lived full-time in nearly 10 years. [Emphasis added.]

Presumably, this is referring to Harris beginning her Senate work in January 2017; she and her husband Doug Emhoff purchased a condo in the Westlight building for $1.775 million later that year.

Now, it’s not that rare for senators and congressmen to run for governor, and obviously they still spend time in their home states. But expect some Harris rival to observe, “The last time Kamala Harris lived here in California full time, Barack Obama was president; the U.K. was in the European Union; and David Bowie, Prince, and Harambe were alive.”

Click here to read the full article in the National Review

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Duh: ‘Democrats Are Not Thrilled About Kamala’

June 4, 2025 By Katy Grimes Leave a Comment

Race and gender are not qualifications, skills, talent or personality traits

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

“Democrats are not thrilled about Kamala, reads the headline from a Politico article Sunday.

Let me break the news to Politico: Democrats were never thrilled about Kamala. She’s an elitist politician who hides behind race and gender as cover for her incompetence.

Kamala Harris is the poster child for everything wrong with affirmative action.

Race and gender are not qualifications, skills, talent or personality traits.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported Sunday that Democrat activists and party delegates are tepid at best on former Vice President Kamala Harris launching a gubernatorial bid.

Kamala Harris did not attend the CADEM Convention in Anaheim in person over the weekend – even though she lives in Los Angeles. Instead, as 4,000 party delegates gathered, “she spoke to them through a three-minute video address that drew tepid applause.”

How gracious of her.

As the Globe reported Monday, “her decision not to attend the CADEM convention held in Anaheim only increased the popularity in the gubernatorial races of the next top 8 candidates.”

Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.

Kamala Harris has only herself to blame for Democrats saying “meh” when her name is mentioned as a gubernatorial candidate, or presidential candidate – again.

In April when there appeared to be very few interested in Kamala running for President again, we reported:

Some of “her closest allies say she is leaning against another White House run in 2028 and, instead, toward a campaign for governor of California in 2026,” the New York Times reports on the future of Kamala Harris, because as Harris says, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what you came before you.”

“Her political choice is binary, she has told people: She can run for governor or president, but not both.”

Duh. Did Kamala Harris write that line?

Remember, Kamala prolongs the life of luxury her campaigning affords her as long as there is even “talk” of her running – for anything:

Kamala Harris has a reputation for luxury living on campaign funds, she probably wants to keep the funding coming in. Going back to 2011, her spending on luxury hotels, first class airfares, and limousines raised eyebrows. As the Hill reported in 2015:

“Staff has always worried about Kamala’s spending, but she is adamant about using campaign money as she wants,” said a former aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“She treats the campaign like a personal checking account to fund a lifestyle she aspires to,” the former aide added.

Another ex-aide said that “Kamala demands a life of luxury.”

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Looking good for Kamala Harris, not so much for Karen Bass, poll shows

May 13, 2025 By Seema Mehta Leave a Comment

California voters have sharply differing views over two of the state’s most prominent Democrats, according to a new poll.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to decide by the end of the summer whether she runs for California governor in 2026, has near universal name recognition among California voters, and 50% view her favorably, according to a survey by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by The Times.

In contrast, California voters, notably residents of the city of Los Angeles, are more likely to view Mayor Karen Bass unfavorably. In the aftermath of the devastating fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades earlier this year and criticism of the city’s response, Bass’ approval ratings are dire among Angelenos, who are overwhelmingly Democratic. Voters’ unhappiness with the mayor could create difficulties for her reelection campaign next year if the mood persists.

“When you’re underwater and almost universally known — 82% of voters can offer an opinion of Bass in Los Angeles city — one of the hardest things to overcome is an accumulated negative image,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the IGS poll. “Once you develop an unfavorable image, it’s hard to overcome. It almost requires another major event she can take credit for or look good in handling.”

The Democrats are longtime allies — Harris swore Bass in when she was elected mayor of Los Angeles in 2022 after defeating real estate developer Rick Caruso by nearly 10 points.

Both women were among the elected officials vetted to be Joe Biden’s running mate in the 2020 election. Harris ultimately prevailed, was elected vice president and then became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024 after Biden decided not to run for reelection.

But California voters have strikingly different thoughts about the veteran elected officials.

Perceptions of Bass, a longtime member of Congress and the state Legislature, have faltered in the aftermath of the fires — a notable reversal among Californians who were optimistic about her prospects shortly before she won the mayoral election in 2022.

In October of that year, 50% of likely voters in Los Angeles had a positive opinion of Bass, while 35% had a negative view, according to a UC Berkeley/Times poll conducted at the time.

Now, half of the city’s voters surveyed perceive her negatively, while 32% have a favorable impression, according to the new poll. In Los Angeles, with the exception of Black voters and senior citizens, Bass is viewed more unfavorably than positively among voters of every other age group, and men and women. Statewide, 42% of voters do not have a favorable view of Bass, who is facing a recall effort that is unlikely to make the ballot. Only 1 in 5 (19%) give her high marks.

Harris, despite losing the presidential election to Donald Trump in 2024, is faring better than Bass among California voters as she weighs a gubernatorial bid next year to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cannot run for the seat again because of term limits.

Roughly 96% of California voters know enough about Harris to have an opinion about her, according to the poll. That’s a stratospheric level of name identification in an enormous state where lesser-known candidates must spend tens of millions of dollars in hopes of raising their profile.

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

Kamala Harris plans pointed critique of Trump in first major speech since leaving office

April 29, 2025 By Seema Mehta Leave a Comment

Former Vice President Kamala Harris plans to offer a pointed critique of President Trump and his policies on Wednesday in her first major speech since leaving office.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

“She will reflect on the enduring promise of America and issue a call to action in the face of reckless economic policies and the urgent and escalating crisis facing America’s institutions and global leadership,” according to a person with knowledge of Harris’ speech who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

The speech, which is expected to be her most extensive remarks since losing the presidential election in November and leaving office in January, comes as Harris has been weighing whether to enter the 2026 California governor’s race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Harris, 60, is not expected to make a decision until the end of the summer — a delay that has prompted criticism from fellow Democrats who argue that politicians can’t sit on the sidelines at a crucial moment in the nation’s and the state’s future.

Harris’ speech will take place at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco at the 20th anniversary gala of Emerge, a training program for female candidates aimed at increasing the number of Democratic women in elected office. The group was co-founded by Andrea Dew Steele, who advised Harris’ successful 2003 campaign for district attorney of San Francisco.

The former vice president is expected to speak about Emerge’s efforts to elect women as well as offer her most substantive remarks to date about the Trump administration.

“She will expand upon her theme of ‘courage is contagious’ and celebrate the many Americans exhibiting courage and remaining vocal and vigilant,” according to the source familiar with the speech.

Harris has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office. She met with firefighters and volunteers in Altadena hours after attending Trump’s inauguration, and touched upon the Trump administration’s policies when she accepted an award from the NAACP in February.

Earlier this month, she decried the rollback of fundamental rights under Trump without mentioning him by name during a surprise appearance at a national conference of Black women leaders, including business owners and politicians, at an oceanfront resort in Dana Point.

“Our commitment to lifting each other up, lifting up our community, lifting up our country has not changed,” Harris said at the Leading Women Defined conference. “Now what has changed since 2016: We are in the midst of seeing progress being rolled back. Policies that we birthed being rolled back.”

Click here to read the full article in the LA Times

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Will California Democrats defer to former VP Kamala Harris if she runs for governor?

March 24, 2025 By Kaitlyn Schallhorn 5 Comments

Former Rep. Katie Porter’s spokesperson says she’ll bow out if the former vice president jumps into the race

Former Rep. Katie Porter certainly didn’t wait for former Vice President Kamala Harris to decide whether she, too, wants to run for California governor in 2026.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

But Porter, in recently declaring her candidacy to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, has put a bit of an asterisk next to her campaign.

Should Harris decide to enter the race, Porter would bow out, her spokesperson has said.

Porter is laying out her cards.

“If Kamala comes into this race — especially if she comes in tomorrow, she comes in now — it’s going to have a near field-clearing effect,” Porter said on a recent episode of the “Pod Save America” podcast.

It would be “disrespectful,” Porter said when pressed on why she’s willing to defer to Harris rather than run a campaign regardless, not to acknowledge that the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee “would be an incredibly strong candidate.”

Meanwhile, other candidates are ignoring the Harris-of-it-all shadow cast on the already-crowded field for governor.

Former Assembly Speaker and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, for instance, said a theoretical Harris entry doesn’t matter. He’s in it to win it, he said during a recent event at the UC Student and Policy Center in Sacramento.

So what’s the better campaign strategy for the field of Democrats, a group that, as of now, includes legislative leaders, members of the state’s executive branch and a former congressional representative?

Defer to the person who led your party in the recent presential election?

Or fight for pole position, convince voters that no matter who else runs, you’re the best one for the job?

It’s politics, so predicting just which approach is the most politically savvy strategy may be a fool’s errand this early in the race.

Still, it could prove to be a defining moment for Democrats, said Matt Lesenyie, who teaches political science at Cal State Long Beach, with a focus on political psychology and messaging.

Likening it to an actual horse race, Lesenyie said the Democratic Party — and to some extent, Republicans, too — have struggled because they have not had their top candidates really go toe-to-toe with one another.

“Their thoroughbreds haven’t actually had to run a race until it was too late,” he said. “(Former President) Joe Biden is a quality candidate but probably should have had another runner-up against him in the primary to show he still has it or he doesn’t.”

But certainly when you have a race oversaturated with quality candidates, most of them are going to take a foreseeable loss, Lesenyie said.

Click here to read the full article in the OC Register

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , ,

Former VP Kamala Harris to Decide On 2026 Gubernatorial Run By The End Of Summer

March 9, 2025 By Evan Symon 5 Comments

Harris close to announcing an official run for Governor

According to several Democratic donors and aides, former Vice President Kamala Harris has said that she is currently interested in running for Governor in 2026, and will make her decision by the end of the summer.

Click Here to Subscribe to the California Political Review

Harris’ confirmation dates back to Sunday, where Harris was repeatedly questioned by many Democratic donors at an Oscars pre-watch party in Los Angeles. While it has been known for several months that Harris has looked into a possible run, it has not been confirmed just how close she is to doing so. According to Politico, she told everyone who asked that she will be making her decision by the end of the summer.

Before Friday, Harris proved to be evasive when asked about running in 2026. Aides told the media regularly that she was split on whether or not she should run for Governor in 2026 or run for President in 2028. Since leaving the Vice Presidency Harris has remained in the public eye, seen visiting with wildfire victims in Los Angeles. At the same time, she has been ignored by the public in multiple occasions, like at a February Los Angeles Lakers game where she received a chilly reception amongst fans. Nonetheless, she has remained the top speculative candidate for the past several months.

“I have been home for two weeks and three days,” said Harris when asked about a run for Governor during a visit to the Palisades wildfire area last month. “My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what I can do to support them. I am here and would be here regardless of the office I hold, because it is the right thing to do, which is to show up in your community and thank the folks who are on the ground.”

Polls have shown that Harris is the strong favorite among potential and declared candidates. A November IGS poll, which was the first to include Harris, found that she was at the top of the poll by a huge margin. According to the poll, 46% of all voters in California said they would support her gubernatorial bid on some level, with 72% of Democrats saying that they would be very likely or somewhat likely to consider Harris for governor. An Emerson College poll last month confirmed that she was still out ahead s the favorite candidate amongst registered Democratic voters, beating out all other candidates with 57% of the vote. In both polls, former Congresswoman Katie Porter, who has also yet to officially declare a gubernatorial run, was a distant second.

Should Harris run, her presence would all but certainly shake up the race. Currently, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Former State Controller Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have all declared runs on the Democrat side, with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco the only major Republican in the race. However, in addition to Harris and Porter, developer and 2022 Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, State Senator and 2022 Gubernatorial candidate Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), former Olympian and 2021 Gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner, Fox New Host and former advisor to UK Prime Minister David Cameron Steve Hilton, actor Mel Gibson, and Special Presidential Envoy and former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell have all either announced possible runs or have been seen as potential candidates.

A possible Harris run

Some of the potential candidates, chief among them Grenell, have further stated that they would only run if Harris herself entered the race, adding in more potential variables. Grenell running would particularly be a blow to a potential Harris campaign because of his popularity among right and center voters.

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , ,

Are You Kidding? Berkeley Poll Reports California Voters Want Kamala for Governor

November 15, 2024 By Katy Grimes 3 Comments

This is a last gasp attempt to save Kamala’s fledgling political career, which appears to be going down in flames

Click here to SUBSCRIBE to CA Political Review 

The 2024 presidential election is only 8 days old and already a new poll doubling down on stupid from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by Los Angeles Times, found that if failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris throws her hat in for California’s 2026 gubernatorial race, “nearly half of voters would be very or somewhat likely to support her,” the LA Times reports.

Right. A Berkeley poll claims Californians want Kamala.

Are you kidding me? That ship has sailed. Nobody but her paid campaign staff wants Kamala.

I’d be willing to bet that her family wouldn’t even vote for her unless they were promised high-paid jobs in her administration.

A Berkeley IGS Poll reported Nov. 1st that “Vice President Kamala Harris holds a commanding 22-point lead in her home state over Republican Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race. “The poll of likely voters and those who already have voted finds that Harris leads former president Trump 57% to 35%, with 3% favoring other candidates and 5% undecided.”

While Harris won California along with its 54 electoral votes, results show voters weren’t at all as enthusiastic about her as they were about Joe Biden in 2020, and even that vote is in question. Harris received about 58% of California’s votes while President-elect Donald Trump received 40% from California voters.

This election found millions more Californians rejected Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris’ and California Democrats’ dangerous Anti-American agenda. Yes, even California is not nearly as blue as it once was, thanks to Newsom, Harris and Democrats.

Eight to 10 California counties flipped to Trump in this election year.

Who paid for this poll – the Harris campaign?

Well, this is a LA Times/Berkeley poll…

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,

America’s Weakest Presidential Candidate Epitomizes the Left’s Disdain for the People

October 27, 2024 By Katy Grimes 1 Comment

Kamala is devoid of a personality, of critical thinking skills, and a conscience

Click here to SUBSCRIBE to CA Political Review 

This presidential campaign has been the strangest I’ve ever witnessed since voting in my first election in 1980. And in the ensuing years I have watched and witnessed the left become more radical, more Marxist, and completely disinterested in the concerns and issues important to American voters – nor are they interested in the will of the people.

The 2024 Presidential Election may be the most corrupt, immoral scandalous election ever, and with the weakest presidential candidate in recent history – Kamala Harris.

Kamala’s latest interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN was atrocious.

I retweeted:

CNN: You’ve been in the White House for four years. Why haven’t you done any of this already? KAMALA: “I’m pointing out things that need to be done that haven’t been done that need to be done.”

I responded:

Order Up: One tossed word salad with a side of idiocy.

While Kamala Harris continues to attempt to deflect any policy discussion, voters likely won’t be so forgiving. Because after 4 years of the Biden/Harris administration, the people are broke, beat up, living in fear, afraid for their children’s future, and concerned about the future of the United States.

A new Gallup poll shows that an overwhelming majority of U.S. voters want new voter integrity laws:

84% want to require all voters to provide photo ID in order to vote;

83% want to require people who are registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship.

Despite this priority issue for voters, Democrats have been actively mandating and passing no-voter-ID laws in some states.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill banning local voter identification requirements.

Kamala’s flip-flops

This is just one example of how Democrats are flipping the bird at voters. And there are so many other quality-of-life issues important to the American people – issues Kamala has flip-flopped on.

The George Floyd killing and subsequent 2020 protests demanding defunding the police, Harris was supportive of the defunding.

“This whole movement is about rightly saying we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities,” Harris said in a 2020 interview.

Her campaign now says, “Throughout her career, Sen. Harris has supported increasing funding to police departments and boosting funding for community policing.”

Despite saying in her 2020 presidential bid, “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Harris has now flip-flopped on that position and claims she will not ban fracking.

After saying in 2020 she wouldn’t “rule out” expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, she now says she’s not in favor of packing the Supreme Court.

Kamala even called President Trump’s border wall “stupid” and “un-American.”  Now she says she will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the southern border wall.

Where do the people stand on the issues?

Click here to read that the full article in the California Globe

Filed Under: Trending News Tagged With: , ,