California Democrats Say No to Another Harris Run
New polling out of California is blunt. Most Democrats in the state aren’t lining up behind Kamala Harris for another presidential run. They’re saying thanks, but no thanks.
The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll puts Harris at just 9% as a top choice among California voters. Governor Gavin Newsom leads at 28%, but that’s not exactly a landslide. Less than half of Californians — 48% — approve of Newsom’s job as governor, down from 51% in August.
The New York Post reports:
“Kamala Harris bombs in humiliating new poll — but it’s also bad news for Gavin Newsom
California voters are resoundingly rejecting former Vice President Kamala Harris as a possible 2028 presidential contender — while Gov. Gavin Newsom faces an uphill battle, according to a new poll.
Harris trailed behind Newsom, as well as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, with just 9% of voters in her home state saying she would be their first choice for the Democratic nominee, according to a poll released Friday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.
Newsom leads the pack with 28% of voters naming him as their top choice — however, receiving support from only roughly a quarter of those in the Golden State is worrying, Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll, told the Los Angeles Times.
The poll also shows that less than half of Californians (48%) approve of the job Newsom is doing as governor.
That marks a drop from 51% approval in August, DiCamillo said. Newsom’s disapproval rating also climbed by 5 percentage points.”
Ouch. That line-up is bad for Harris. It’s also a reminder that the California bench isn’t overflowing with rock-solid options.
Critics aren’t shy. Here’s a longer take from Ward Clark at RedState — included exactly as written:
“What’s really amazing is that the former vice president broke, well, zero. But then, here on the other side of the aisle, we hold our candidates to a higher standard – like insisting they can speak in public. A candidate who can’t string together a coherent sentence if you spot her two verbs and a participle won’t get very far in the Republican Party, but Democrats? Well, look at recent history: Every Kamala Harris Q&A session, the few that she did, even though they were asking pre-approved questions… Well, she did her best to do a credible impression of a word salad shooter, and that’s about all.
Look, for most of my adult life, I’ve had a few criteria that I use to judge someone’s intelligence. They aren’t infallible, but they broadly apply. One of those is this: Intelligent people are generally pretty good at speaking extemporaneously. Ronald Reagan was good at that. Bill Clinton was good at that. Barack Obama, lauded by Democrats as a speechifier, was terrible without a teleprompter, and Joe Biden wasn’t any good even with one. Democrats don’t seem to set very high standards for rhetoric in their candidates.
Kamala Harris took those low expectations and smashed them into miles into the earth’s crust, probably breaking through into the mantle. It’s no wonder that California Democrats are looking at a potential second Harris campaign and saying, “Yeah, no thanks.”
If Kamala Harris ignores all of this and decides to run in 2028 anyway, expect her to drop out early in the primary, just like she did in 2020.
There is just no demand for her candidacy, even on the left.”
The tone here is clear. Even parts of the Democratic base in California aren’t sold on Harris. That doesn’t mean she won’t try. But the numbers suggest she’d face an uphill fight from the start.
Newsom’s lead looks shaky too. He’s the top choice for now, but under 30% support and slipping approval ratings aren’t great signs. California Democrats may be searching for someone with more energy and broader appeal.
Bottom line: If Harris runs, she starts from the back of the pack. Expect a short primary if the poll picture holds.