Debate Over Kamala Harris's Potential 2028 Presidential Run Among Democrats

<p>Allies of former Vice President Kamala Harris, along with Democratic surrogates, are discussing whether she would be the preferred candidate within the party for the 2028 presidential election, considering her name recognition and respect among Democrats against the sentiment that voters may want to move on from the 2024 loss.</p><p>"People just want to move on," Fletcher Smith, a former state legislator in South Carolina and Biden 2020 surrogate, told The Washington Post. "We’ve got a number of younger generation of people who are capable of leading — we’ve got governors, we’ve got congresspeople, we have senators. I think what she needs to do is sit out 2028 and let some other people have a shot at saving our democracy."</p><p>Many Democratic allies acknowledged that Harris is well respected within the party, but questioned whether that respect would translate into support for another presidential bid.</p><p>"She’s extraordinarily popular in the party and people are very fond of her and want her to be treated with a lot of respect and deference — given all the due of someone in her position," Jamal Simmons, a former communications director for Harris, told the Post. "Many people see it as a service what she did in 2024, where she really stepped up for the party, stepped up for Joe Biden, stepped up for the country. There’s a lot of respect for her. But it’s yet to be seen how much of that becomes support for another presidential run."</p><p>Podcast host and former South Carolina state senator Bakari Sellers mentioned to the Post that while Harris is "very talented," she has yet to define what a potential 2028 campaign would look like to key constituencies.</p><p>"One of the first statements she put out was about AI, when it’s clear she needs to boost her support among Black men," Sellers stated. "California has a cost-of-living issue, and she’s not talking about cost of living at all."</p><p>The Post reported that Sellers has not spoken to Harris in over a year, which he suggested could be concerning for a candidate who would need to secure a victory in South Carolina.</p><p>During Sellers' podcast on Monday, he ranked Harris as No. 2 in his top five candidates for 2028, stating that while she is talented and intelligent, he questioned whether her team would "let her be great."</p><p>"Let Kamala be Kamala, and you would have the next president of the United States without a doubt in my mind," he said. He ranked Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as the top candidate, calling him the "biggest impediment" to Harris being the nominee.</p><p>Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff, who was part of Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, told Fox News Digital that Harris hasn't made significant changes since 2024.</p><p>"Harris has not done anything truly new or different since 2024. Her greatest post-VP visibility came from her book tour. Running again without a new chapter or story to tell is like reapplying to the same college after getting rejected, taking a gap year, and coming back with basically the same application. You can rewrite the essay, but if you did nothing new, admissions is still looking at the same file," Shroff said.</p><p>Shroff suggested that a new candidate might have an advantage over Harris by introducing themselves to voters for the first time on a national stage.</p><p>"She does not get to reintroduce herself. That is the burden of being so well known. She has a real base and a lot of goodwill in the party, but she also lost, and that makes some voters and, importantly, donors nervous. Even if she starts high in the polls, the question is where the growth comes from if there is not much new to add," he said. "Someone like a Pritzker at least gets the advantage of telling his story to a lot of voters for the first time."</p><p>Shroff added, "What Harris is doing well right now is using her position as a party leader rather than acting like a candidate in waiting. A great example is her showing up for Abdul El-Sayed despite his criticism of her and the bad blood with some on the far left in Michigan. She acknowledged the disagreements, still made the case for him, and used her stature to help unite the party in a critical moment — particularly with outreach to Black voters. That is an example of influence she has right now, regardless of what she does in 2028 and that will continue to matter whether she seeks the nomination or not."</p><p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom stated during a recent interview that he would not run in 2028 if Harris decided to run.</p><p>Harris has not made a definitive statement regarding her plans to run, but has indicated that she is considering it.</p><p>Others expressed more confidence in Harris, including Ashley Etienne, another former communications director for Harris. She told the Post that Harris would need to separate herself from the Democratic establishment but noted that she would have significant advantages in a national election.</p><p>Virginia Democratic state senator L. Louise Lucas commented that Democrats rejecting Harris too quickly could be interpreted negatively, suggesting it could be seen as overlooking a qualified Black woman for the position.</p><p>"There’s no question that people would be upset because you see what happened last time," Lucas said. "It could very well be that some folks would be so disillusioned that they would just say, ‘I give up on this process’ — especially people who’ve been fighting as many years as I have, who have come through the civil rights movement and just experienced so much, endured so much, and then to see this happen again would be quite painful."</p><p>Several members of Congress did not rush to express their support for Harris when asked about her potential candidacy in 2028.</p><p>"Well, I've backed her before, but there'll be other contenders this time," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital. "I've made no decisions about who I would support."</p><p>"I think we're going to have a very, very, very messy and very big primary," Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., stated. "It's going to be every Tom, Dick and Harry. And that's probably where it should be."</p><p>"We're focused on 2026," said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md. "We're going to win back the House and the Senate."</p><p>She added, "I love Kamala Harris. I have a very personal friendship and relationship. She's amazing. I think anybody who wants to run should. She's obviously very well qualified. We need to focus on '26."</p>