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Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ prospective gubernatorial bid is not striking up much excitement among Democratic fundraisers in California, Politico reported Friday.
The outlet spoke to multiple Democratic Party donors in California to see how they felt about Harris possibly running for governor. So far, her interest in exploring a gubernatorial run in the state following her 2024 presidential election loss hasn’t enthused many.
“She still would probably lead, but honestly, no one is incredibly pumped,” one Southern California fundraiser told Politico.
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Politico recently spoke to multiple Democratic Party fundraisers in California who allege that hardly anyone is excited about former Vice President Kamala Harris potentially running for governor of the state. (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Harris, who lost November’s election to President Donald Trump, is seriously considering a 2026 bid to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif. A source close to Harris told Fox News Digital in March that she has told allies she will decide by the end of summer on whether to launch a gubernatorial campaign.
The two potential options for Harris are launching a gubernatorial run next year in her home state or seeking the presidency again in 2028. Extremely early polls in the next Democratic Party presidential nomination race — which are heavily reliant on name recognition at this point — indicate that the former vice president holds a significant lead over other potential White House contenders.
“In interviews, several major donors in the state told POLITICO they fear her reemergence as a candidate would re-open still-fresh wounds from her defeat in 2024,” the outlet reported. “Some harbor lingering frustration about how her billion-dollar campaign juggernaut ended in debt and want assurances she would have a clear plan to win the governor’s mansion.”
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Harris is currently weighing a bid to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., once he leaves office. (Getty Images)
Mather Martin, a party fundraiser from San Francisco who worked for multiple Harris campaigns, told Politico, “There was more enthusiasm at first” for Harris’ run. However, he added, “I think it waned a bit.”
Another donor who gave a six-figure donation to Harris’ presidential campaign last year told the outlet they had found the implosion of her White House bid “traumatizing” and seemed reluctant to support her in the state.
“Kamala just reminds you we are in this complete s— storm. With Biden, we got bamboozled… I think she did the best she could in that situation, but obviously she knew about the cognitive decline too. I’ve written so many checks because I knew the Trump administration would be horrible, but we’re living in a nightmare because of the Democrats. I’m furious at them, truly.”
The donor who declared that “no one is incredibly pumped” about Harris’ run also shared that donors “realize it’s just going to bring up the whole pathetic last presidential, which no one wants to hear about again. And then it’s the whole ‘Did you know Joe Biden?’ thing.”
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Scott Drexel, a donor-adviser based in the San Francisco Bay Area, noted, “It’s very fair to say there’s not an overwhelming clamor” for Harris’ gubernatorial run.
He also pointed out, “It’s very hard for there to be one if it’s not 100 percent clear if she really wants to do it.”
“She’s going to have to work for the nomination. Every day that passes, there’s less of a sense of inevitability about her candidacy,” Drexel said.
Democratic donor and San Francisco trial lawyer Joe Cotchett told Politico, “She is talking to people around the state about whether she is going to run. If she does, she’s going to have very difficult problems.”
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Harris’ team did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.