'Presidential Election Defeat' Harris's Future Position... California Governor Mentioned

Democratic Party's Last Bastion Symbolism
46% of California Voters Support Harris

Following her defeat in the November 5 U.S. presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris, who must leave the White House next year, is being discussed as a potential candidate for the next governor of California. The position of governor of California, symbolizing the last stronghold of the 'Blue Wall,' is considered an ideal post for opposition figures aiming for the presidency.

On the 24th (local time), The Hill, a U.S. congressional news outlet, predicted Vice President Harris's future moves after leaving the White House with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20 next year, stating, "There may be another opportunity in California, the home state and bastion of resistance in the 'blue states' (Democratic strongholds), against the Trump second-term administration."

AFP Yonhap News

Gavin Newsom, the current Democratic governor of California, was re-elected in the 2022 election and is currently serving his second term. According to state law, he cannot run for governor again in the 2026 election. Experts therefore believe that if Vice President Harris is considering a presidential bid in 2028, it would be advantageous for her to challenge for the governorship of her home state, California.

Fred Hicks, a Democratic strategist, said, "There are too many people aiming to run in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, and there is still a lot of time left, so it will not be easy for Vice President Harris to win outright." However, he added, "(If Harris becomes governor of California) she will be in a favorable position to fight against 'Trumpism' during the latter part of President Trump's term." The symbolic significance of the California governorship, regarded as the 'last bastion' against President Trump, is analyzed to be an important key for Democratic candidates aiming for the next presidency.

According to a poll conducted from the 22nd to 29th of last month by the UC Berkeley School of Public Policy and the Los Angeles Times, surveying 4,838 registered California voters (with a margin of error of ±2 percentage points), nearly half of the respondents, 46% (72% of Democrats), said they would support Vice President Harris in the next gubernatorial election. If Harris is elected governor of California for a four-year term, it may be difficult for her to run in the 2028 presidential election, but since she is more than 20 years younger than her predecessors, Hicks explained that she could aim for the 2032 presidential election.

Earlier, on the day after the presidential election, November 6, Vice President Harris strongly hinted at a presidential re-challenge in her concession speech, saying, "The fight for freedom and opportunity, fairness, and dignity for all, the fight for the ideals that represent the best America, will never be given up." However, experts believe that Harris will likely take about a year of rest and time to organize her surroundings after leaving office. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to President Trump in the 2016 election, also published her post-election memoir, What Happened, the following year.