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Kamala Harris Has Scrambled the California Governor’s Race Without Entering It

Published

1 year ago

February 19, 2025

Kamala Harris Has Scrambled the California Governor’s Race Without Entering It

In a different scenario, the governor’s race in California would already have taken shape. Aspiring candidates would have been making appearances around the state. Donors would have begun bankrolling their favorites, and organizations would have started to announce endorsements.

Instead, Kamala Harris came home.

The former vice president, after a stinging defeat in the presidential race last year, has shaken up the 2026 governor’s race by her mere presence in California. Speculation has grown each week since her return from Washington: Will she or won’t she enter the race?

After flying back to Los Angeles last month, Ms. Harris has stood with firefighters in Altadena, greeted evacuees at a Red Cross shelter and toured fire damage in Pacific Palisades. During her most recent stop, she did little to quell speculation.

“I am here, and would be here, regardless of the office I hold, because it is the right thing to do,” Ms. Harris said when reporters pressed her about whether she was running for governor.

The possibility has made it difficult for most other Democrats to move forward, realizing that any calculations they make now would be upended if Ms. Harris entered the race . The 2026 contest to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cannot run again because of term limits, is currently populated by lesser-known aspirants, many of whom likely would step aside if Ms. Harris decided to run.

“She hasn’t frozen the field, but definitely made it icy enough to force everyone to slow down and watch their step,” said Dan Newman, a Democratic strategist who advised Mr. Newsom during his campaigns for governor.

Ms. Harris is weighing whether to run for governor next year, run for president in 2028 or pursue a role outside of elected office, according to a person with knowledge of her deliberations. She has put together an advisory team that includes former White House staff, veteran Democratic strategists, policy experts, a speechwriter and a fund-raiser.

Running for governor might seem to be a step down for someone who served four years as the vice president and was the Democratic nominee for president. But by doing so, Ms. Harris would avoid the competitive slog of a presidential primary and have a strong chance to lead the nation’s most populous state with the help of fellow Democrats who control the legislature. Ms. Harris has won in California every time she’s been on the statewide ballot — as a candidate for president, vice president, senator and attorney general.

By this point eight years ago, the last time California had an open governor’s seat, the major Democratic candidates had fully launched their campaigns and Mr. Newsom had emerged as the front-runner in polls. Though the primary election is still 16 months away, it takes longer in California than elsewhere for candidates to raise money and become known to voters across a vast state with expensive media markets.

So far, the declared Democratic candidates include the lieutenant governor, the schools superintendent, a former mayor of Los Angeles, a former state controller and a former legislative leader. Though they’ve begun to raise money and seek endorsements, they are little-known to voters, making the race an unpredictable free-for-all.

Eleni Kounalakis, the lieutenant governor, was the first to jump into the governor’s race when she declared her candidacy in April 2023. At the time, the possibility that Ms. Harris might enter the race was on few minds.

Because Ms. Kounalakis and Ms. Harris have been friends for more than two decades, it’s difficult to imagine them running against each other. Their friendship dates back to when Ms. Harris was the San Francisco district attorney and Ms. Kounalakis was running her family’s home-building company in the same city, “both young women, trying to navigate the halls of power,” Ms. Kounalakis said in a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Ms. Kounalakis was not available for comment.

While most Democrats are in wait-and-see mode, the prospect of Ms. Harris’s entry seems to have energized some Republicans. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, launched his campaign on Monday. Republican Steve Hilton, a Fox News commentator and former adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, who lives in Silicon Valley, is also weighing a run. And Richard Grenell, who has a home in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and is President Trump’s envoy for special missions, said last week that he would consider running for California governor — if Ms. Harris gets into the race.

Such candidates would face long odds in a state that has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006, when voters re-elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor. But Republicans believe competing against Ms. Harris, especially after her loss to President Trump, could energize their supporters and attract more donations.

“She would be a very enticing opponent to Republicans,” said Matt Shupe, a campaign strategist who is advising Mr. Hilton.

If Ms. Harris does run, it would be a rare move for someone who came so close to the presidency. Only four vice presidents have run for governor, and one dropped out to support another candidate, according to Joel Goldstein, an emeritus law professor at Saint Louis University who has studied the history of vice presidents.

In 1804, Aaron Burr lost his race for governor of New York, an outcome that he blamed on Alexander Hamilton before he shot Mr. Hamilton dead in their famous duel. In 1894, Levi Morton, the vice president under President Benjamin Harrison, won the New York governor’s race.

The most direct parallel, however, was Richard Nixon. In 1960, Mr. Nixon, then the Republican vice president, lost the presidential race to John F. Kennedy. He returned home to Southern California and ran for governor in 1962.

Mr. Nixon adjusted to the parochial nature of a governor’s race and pledged to visit every county in the state, according to news accounts. He signed autographs in the rain in the Sierra Nevada foothills, posed for photos with “coonskin capped” mountain men and played piano for potato farmers near the Oregon border, The Los Angeles Times reported in February 1962.

In the 2026 governor’s race, some prominent Democrats have yet to announce their intentions as Ms. Harris weighs her decision.

Katie Porter, the former congresswoman known for viral moments in which she grilled executives with her whiteboard on Capitol Hill, has made several trips to Sacramento in recent weeks to meet with labor leaders and others who are influential in Democratic politics — indications that she has been laying the groundwork to get in the race. But she also has suggested that she and others would be unlikely to take on Ms. Harris.

“If Vice President Harris were to choose to run, I am certain that that would have a near field-clearing effect on the Democratic side,” Ms. Porter said at a post-election discussion in December.

Another Democratic leader has decided to forego the governor’s race. Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, had been considering a run but announced this month that he will instead seek re-election as the state’s top lawyer and will support Ms. Harris if she runs for governor.

Not every Democrat would scatter. Two candidates who are positioning themselves as business-friendly moderates said that they will stay in the race even if Ms. Harris jumps in. Antonio Villaraigosa, a former Los Angeles mayor who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018 and now works for the cryptocurrency company Coinbase, said that he’s running again because too many Californians are struggling with the cost of living.

“Because nothing has changed for them, nothing has changed for me,” Mr. Villaraigosa said.

Stephen Cloobeck, a real estate developer who has given his campaign $3 million, said Ms. Harris’s time in Washington has left her disconnected from California voters.“I welcome her entering the race if she decides to do that,” he said.

It is not clear when Ms. Harris might make a decision.

Lorena Gonzalez, the president of the California Labor Federation and a former Democratic state lawmaker, said that the prospect of Ms. Harris’s entry has “slowed everything down.”

The labor federation has invited candidates for governor to speak to union members at an event in May to begin considering an endorsement.

“We never thought that would look too early,” Gonzalez said. “But now it seems like it might be.”

In 1962, the last time a vice president came home to run for governor, Mr. Nixon lost to Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, the Democratic incumbent.

It was that defeat that led Mr. Nixon to tell reporters, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”

Six years later, he was elected president.

Orlando Mayorquín and Jesus Jiménez contributed reporting. Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.

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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Published

5 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.

During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.

The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.

Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.

Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.

The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.

The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.

“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.

The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.

On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.

During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.

Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.

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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

Published

14 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM

Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26

Page 5 of 17

and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.

Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)

On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.

Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)

On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.

Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)

On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.

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Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

Published

17 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

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CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.

The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.

“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.

Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.

But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.

Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

Family members stand in front of a portrait of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

How the Rev. Jesse Jackson transformed American politics

“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.

Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.

Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Family members said the services will be open to all.

“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.

Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.

Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.

“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”