Kamala Harris, California’s Newsom begin jockeying for 2028 presidential campaigns
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Former US vice-president Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom are starting to look ahead to the 2028 presidential race.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - Just 10 months into US President Donald Trump’s second term, key Democrats are already starting to look ahead to the race to replace him in 2028.
Former vice-president Kamala Harris, whom Mr Trump defeated in 2024
“I am not done,” she said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been among the most active opponents of Mr Trump’s policies, told CBS News Sunday Morning that he will make his decision on running after the 2026 midterm elections.
“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” he said. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not – I can’t do that.”
Mr Newsom has taken to needling Mr Trump frequently on social media, mocking his all-caps, exclamation-mark heavy style, as well as taking more serious actions like suing him to stop his deployment of the National Guard to California cities or sending them to other states.
Democrats have been trying to find a path out of the political wilderness after former president Joe Biden waited until July 2024 to abandon his re-election campaign
With little more than three months to build a campaign against Mr Trump, she still won 226 Electoral College votes to his 312. A candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes to take the White House.
The Democrat party, while complaining bitterly about Mr Trump’s immigration, tariff and military policies, has yet to enunciate a clear vision of how they would govern if they won back control of the White House and Congress.
Democrats lost ground with the Black and Hispanic voters they long took for granted, although polls show Mr Trump is now losing some of the support he won from those voting blocs in 2024.
Besides Ms Harris and Mr Newsom, other potential candidates include Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
Vice-President J.D. Vance is widely expected to seek the Republican nomination. The Constitution bars Mr Trump from seeking another term. BLOOMBERG
