Kamala Harris Hints Strongly at Her Political Future

In a surprise appearance on Thursday, former Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a California summit focused on Black women in leadership, hinting at what may come next for her politically after her defeat by President Trump in the 2024 election.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Harris confidently declared during her nearly eight-minute speech at the Leading Women Defined event, as reported by The Hill.

Harris, who represented California in the U.S. Senate from 2017 until becoming Vice President under Joe Biden in 2021, is widely speculated to be eyeing the governor’s mansion in 2026. While she hasn’t confirmed her candidacy, a decision is anticipated by the end of the summer.

Xavier Becerra, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services and a fellow alum of the Biden administration, officially entered the gubernatorial race on Wednesday, setting the stage for what could be a high-profile primary.

If Harris does jump in, she would likely take the lead in the Democratic primary. A February poll from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill placed her well ahead, with support from nearly 60% of probable Democratic voters.

So far, Harris has steered clear of confirming whether she plans to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited and cannot run again.

In her rare public remarks, Harris avoided naming President Trump directly, but alluded to a growing sense of “fear” experienced during “these last few months in our country.”

“There were many things that we knew would happen, many things,” Harris said, referencing her presidential campaign.

“I’m not here to say, ‘I told you so,’” she added with a grin, receiving cheers from the audience. “I swore I wasn’t going to say that.”

WATCH:

Meanwhile, fresh revelations from a new book offer deeper insight into the drama within the Democratic Party during the 2024 election. While past reports suggested that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) played a key role in undermining Biden’s reelection efforts, Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle For the White House by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes reveals just how far she went to keep Harris off the ticket.

On his Tuesday evening broadcast, Fox News host Jesse Watters highlighted passages from the book, particularly comments from co-author Amie Parnes. She described Pelosi’s reaction after witnessing Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump: “She watches the debate, she’s unhappy and she thinks that she doesn’t want Democrats to rush into anything in that moment because she thinks if they rush him out then Kamala is going to be in and she does not think that Kamala Harris can win. She’s in a pickle in that moment.”

Watters also played remarks from Jonathan Allen, who noted: “Her thinking was Biden had to get out and Harris was a disaster and what she was trying to do was get Biden out in time so the Democrats could choose someone other than Harris.”

“Kamala won’t be happy when she sees this, but nobody is more upset with Pelosi than Joe Biden,” Watters added. Citing the book, he continued: “According to the new book, ‘Fight,’ after the coup, ‘Biden was with his friends on Air Force One and started naming the people he would never forgive for their betrayal. The first name out of his mouth – Nancy Pelosi. Biden and Pelosi may never talk again.’”

Parnes also told CNN that tensions remain: “There is still a lot of friction between the two. She went on air on another network and basically twisted the knife, and he and his campaign aides were in shock. She essentially had her fingerprints all over this. The campaign knew it, he knew it, and I don’t think there’s going to be any love lost.”

Watters wrapped up by saying: “But Pelosi was right, Biden did not have what it takes and neither did Kamala. She spent three months and $2 billion crashing and burning, and the whole time, she thought she was winning.”

In one last clip, Parnes summarized the aftermath: “We know that they were shocked, completely surprised by the events that unfolded on election night. They thought they were going to win and, you know, when they were told that they were losing in the final hours and that they had lost, there was complete silence and shock and they were dumbfounded by what was happening.”