Kamala Harris had a whirlwind 107-day campaign. What’s next for her? | Kamala Harris

Whad you ever happened to kamala harris? For 107 days, she was everywhere, filling TV screens and campaign meetings in her whirlwind bid for the White House. Then, with the election defeat of Donald Trump, it all ended as abruptly as it began. The rest is silence.

“The vice president has taken time off to spend time with his family,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. told reporters Thursdaythat acknowledges Harris vacationing in Hawaii with husband Doug Emhoff. “She has worked very hard for the last four years and it was good for her to take a few days to be with her family.”

With Trump’s particular brand of chaos already dominating the Washington agenda, Harris’ vice presidency is clearly winding down. When she formally leaves office on Jan. 20, she will face her first term as a private citizen since being elected San Francisco’s district attorney in 2003.

The speculation has already begun what might come next. While Harris, 60, has not announced any specific plans, supporters suggest options include a move to the private sector, a return to California politics — or another presidential run in 2028.

Bakari sellersa close ally of Harris and former representative from South Carolina, said: “She can do anything she wants. She is more than capable. She has given this country more than enough. She can go to the private sector and earn money. She can go to law school and teach.

“She can be governor of California and pretty much clear the field. She can run for president again. Or she can just say the hell with it and go spend time with Dougie. That decision hasn’t been made yet, but her options are plentiful .“

The last sitting vice president to lose an election was Al Gore in 2000. He went on to make an Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to combat the climate crisis.

Election losers since included John Kerry, later Secretary of State, and John McCain and Mitt Romney, both of whom served in the Senate. Hillary Clinton wrote a book about her 2016 defeat, titled What Happened, while the loser of the 2020 election, Trump, returned to reclaim the White House earlier this month.

Harris could be tempted by a spell in the private sector. Law firms and lobby groups would welcome her legal background and political connections. Alternatively, she could contribute to the political debate by joining a think tank or starting her own advocacy business.

She could also write a book giving her perspective on her time in Joe Biden’s White House, including its internal tensions and her hastily improvised campaign against Trump. Its level of openness will likely depend on whether she plans a return to the political arena.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is term-limited in 2026, raising the prospect of Harris seeking to make more history by becoming the state’s first female governor. As a former California senator and attorney general, she enjoys great name recognition in the state and would have no problem attracting donors.

Harris would follow in the footsteps of Richard Nixon, who lost the 1960 presidential election and ran for governor of California two years later. But he also lost that race. He told reporters, “You don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.” He roared back to win the presidency in 1968.

However, Harris would face competition from other Democrats in 2026. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a longtime Harris ally, has already announced his candidacypotentially creating a contentious primary contest.

Bill Whalena political consultant and speechwriter who has worked for California governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson said, “There’s a governor’s race sitting there waiting for her if she wants it. If you look at the polls, there’s no clear front-runner. If she jumped in, she’d immediately push most Democrats out of the race, and given the politics of California, if it’s her versus a Republican in November, she’d be a dime a dozen to win it.“

The governorship of California, the most populous state in the United States, would offer a high-profile platform that could keep Harris in the national spotlight and potentially position her for a future presidential bid. Like Newsom, Harris could style himself as the leader of the Democratic opposition to Trump.

But focusing on a gubernatorial race could detract from Harris’ efforts to build national support and momentum for a potential 2028 presidential campaign. Whalen, a researcher at Hoover institution at Stanford University in California, said: “The question is, does she want to be governor or does she want to be president? If she wants to be president, then governor is not the way to go because she would have to run for that office in 2026 and turn around and run for president in 2027.”

If Harris became governor, she might have to wait until 2032 for another bid from the White House. Whalen commented, “It’s a long time to wait in politics. If she’s going to run for president again, it’s pretty simple: She and Gavin Newsom and (Illinois Gov.) JB Pritzker and others have to figure out who is the spearhead of the so-called resistance. That would be the card for her to play.“

Democrats are still reeling from Harris’ 312 to 226 defeat by Trump in the Electoral College. But as of Thursday’s count, she only trailed Trump by 1.7% in the national popular vote. She had a total of 74.3 million votes, the third-highest popular vote total in history behind Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024.

The idea of ​​Harris making another bid for the White House in 2028 is already being floated. She retains access to the Democratic Party’s most extensive donor network.

ONE Morning Consult poll this week found that 43% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they would vote for Harris if the party’s 2028 presidential primary were held today. She was well ahead of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with 9% and Newsom with 8%.

But precedent is against her. Democrats have historically shown little appetite for renominating candidates who previously lost presidential elections, as Gore could attest. Furthermore, after both Clinton’s and Harris’ defeats, the party will undoubtedly struggle with whether to field a woman for a third time. Democrats may also be inclined to move on from the Biden-Harris era and seek fresh faces.

Chris Scottwho was coalition director for Harris during the campaign, said, “I have no idea what she plans to do next. I’ve certainly heard the reports, as have a lot of people around her, that she’s potentially running for governor. It would be a big deal for California if that’s what she decided to do, and it also keeps her in the conversation.“

Scott pointed to Harris’ strong advocacy on issues such as reproductive rights and economic opportunity. “There’s a chance she could run again in 2028. Obviously, a lot of things have to look different next time. But a loss here doesn’t negate the fact that she’s been an outstanding public servant throughout her career. It is my hope that we have not seen the last of her in politics.”