California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that he will not run for president in 2028 if the former vice president and 2024 election runner-up Kamala Harris decides to enter the race.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the Democratic Party’s presidential front-runner in the upcoming elections said: “I wouldn’t run if she ran.”
The 58-year-old said putting himself against Harris would simply waste everyone’s time, adding, “I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
But there is also some political calculation behind it.
Newsom and Harris came up through California politics at around the same time and share many of the same supporters, donors and political connections.
Putting both of them into the same Democratic primary could split that base and make it easier for another candidate to come through.
Newsom went as far as calling such a contest “mutual assured destruction.” The governor said, “Electorally it’s a gift from God for everybody else.”
Newsom or Harris has not officially announced a 2028 presidential campaign.
Harris, who lost the 2024 election to Donald Trump, said last week that she still had not decided whether to make another attempt at the White House. Newsom has also stopped short of confirming a run.
However, many signs point that he is preparing for a White House run as he recently travelled through South Carolina while campaigning for Democrats. The state is particularly important because it is expected to open the Democratic presidential primary calendar.
Newsom also admitted that he considered running in 2024 but decided he “wasn’t ready.”
His decision in 2028, he said, will also depend on his wife and four children.
“If they’re not on board, that’s a non-starter,” Newsom said.
2026-09-15 20:16:00
