WATCH: Chuck Todd issues ‘warning’ to Kamala Harris about her political future
Political analyst Chuck Todd cautioned former Vice President Kamala Harris about running for California governor in 2026.
Harris will decide whether to run for the governorship of her state by the end of the summer, she told a pre-Oscars party attendee, according to two individuals with knowledge of the discussion, Politico reported. When “News Conference” host Conan Nolan asked whether Harris will run for the position and whether she should, Todd said he would be surprised if she did, and that it would be challenging for her to win.
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“Boy, I would be shocked if she does. If she wants to run for president in ‘28, you can’t run for governor of California in ‘26,” Todd said. “So I do think if she runs for governor, she’s made the decision she’s not running.”
Todd also highlighted the challenge a typical Democrat could face in winning the governorship after years of one-party control.
“Here’d be my warning to any conventional Democrat running for governor of California in ‘26: Go look at the track record of any political party trying to win a governorship for basically for 20 straight years,” he said. “It doesn’t happen very often, right? And so this is 16 straight years of Democratic governance in California. It’s the longest, I think, going back nearly a hundred years.”
Todd also argued Harris’ status as a long-time powerful politician could work against her if she were to run for the governorship.
“Governor is the one place where voters won’t always vote their jersey color, and I think voters are going to be looking for somebody from the outside,” the political analyst said. “And I think that Harris — somebody who’s the former vice president, former U.S. senator, former district attorney in San Francisco — how does she sell change? She’s got to somehow run against Gavin Newsom’s governorship.”
“So I just don’t see the path for her. I could see an outsider Democrat being able to message this. I think it’s a tough place for her to be,” he added. “If I were advising her, I’d tell her: go throw yourself into the rebuild of LA and get involved with the LA Olympic Committee. Be above politics for a couple of years and come back maybe in 2030 or 2032.”
Harris ultimately lost all seven swing-states and the popular vote to President Donald Trump in November. When she ran for president in 2020, she only secured 844 votes in the Democratic primary, gaining zero delegates in the process, according to archived election data.
Political analyst Mark Halperin argued in December that Harris would face an uphill battle, whether she runs for president again or enters the race for California governor.
“I think her chance[s] of being governor of California are greater than being the Democratic nominee, but I don’t think they’re as great as people say, because again, her challenge is her weakness,” Halperin said. “She does not like to make difficult choices under pressure, and that is the job description for running for governor of California, being governor of California, running for president, being president.
“So I think she might try, but I think she’d be surprised at how tough it is. And finally, I’ll say I’m not sure she wants to be governor of California,” he continued. “It’s not a great job right now, and so why she’d run and risk losing, and then if she did win, get the job — I’m not really sure.”
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