California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will stay out of the 2028 presidential race if Kamala Harris seeks the Democratic nomination, arguing that competing against his longtime California political ally would create “mutual assured destruction.”
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has placed a major condition on any potential 2028 presidential campaign: If former Vice President Kamala Harris runs, he says he will not.
Newsom made the declaration during a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, putting his clearest limit yet on speculation that he could seek the Democratic presidential nomination after leaving the California governor’s office.
“I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see,” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t run if she ran.”
Asked why he would step aside, Newsom said a primary campaign against Harris would be damaging to both candidates and force many longtime political allies to choose between them.
“Of course not. Why would I?” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me.”
He added that he would not “waste everyone’s time” with such a contest.
“Who needs that?” Newsom said.
Neither Newsom nor Harris has announced a 2028 campaign, though both have openly left the possibility under consideration. Harris said earlier this year that she “might” seek the presidency again, while Newsom has increasingly discussed the question in national interviews and appearances.
The two politicians have spent more than two decades rising through California politics on parallel tracks, and Newsom said that history is precisely why running against one another would make little sense.
“First of all, electorally it’s a gift from God for everybody else,” Newsom said. “They’d enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It serves no greater good.”
Their political networks substantially overlap, he said.
“I know her base of supporters, I know her friends, the [Venn] diagram on that is just pure crossover,” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t do that to people. I wouldn’t put them in that position.”
Newsom’s comments appear to be his most definitive statement that Harris’ decision could determine whether he joins the 2028 field. The pair’s shared history and overlapping supporters have long complicated speculation about the possibility of both Californians seeking the nomination simultaneously.
Newsom began his rise in San Francisco, serving as mayor before becoming California lieutenant governor and eventually governor.
Harris was San Francisco district attorney before serving as California attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president.
Their careers repeatedly placed them in the same political orbit without requiring them to directly compete for the same office.
That changed as both increasingly became discussed as potential presidential candidates.
Harris first sought the Democratic presidential nomination during the 2020 election cycle before ending her campaign and later becoming Joe Biden’s running mate. She served as vice president from 2021 to 2025 and became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024 after Biden withdrew from the race. She ultimately lost the general election to Donald Trump.
Newsom faced his own wave of presidential speculation during the 2024 campaign as questions mounted about Biden’s candidacy.
When Biden withdrew, Newsom quickly backed Harris rather than positioning himself as an alternative. The governor told Tapper that he was not prepared to mount a presidential campaign at the time because he lacked what he considered a sufficiently compelling reason to seek the office.
“I would have gotten crushed because I didn’t have a why,” Newsom said. “You don’t have a big enough why, then you don’t belong there.”
That question — why he should run — remains central to his thinking about 2028.
“You gotta be honest with yourself,” Newsom told Tapper. “Do you represent the zeitgeist of the moment?”
Newsom is term-limited as California governor and cannot seek another consecutive term in 2026. His national travel, political appearances and increased engagement in contests outside California have fueled continuing speculation about what he will do after leaving Sacramento.
Harris has likewise remained politically active without committing to another presidential campaign. Her decision not to run for California governor in 2026 intensified speculation about whether she is preserving the option of another White House bid.
A Washington Post report on Newsom’s remarks noted that both politicians continue to be discussed among a potentially large field of Democratic contenders, although no candidate has formally entered the 2028 presidential race.
Newsom acknowledged that the eventual field could be crowded.
“You have to feel like you can stand on that stage with what, 30?” he said, later joking that Democrats could offer “31 flavors” of presidential hopefuls.
His calculation regarding Harris is different.
Rather than testing which California Democrat could prevail in a national primary, Newsom said the overlap between their supporters, relationships and political histories would make such a confrontation counterproductive.
His statement does not amount to an announcement that he will run if Harris stays out.
Instead, Newsom said any presidential campaign would still require him to conclude that he has a compelling reason to seek the office and that he fits what voters are demanding at that particular moment.
But on one scenario, he left little ambiguity: If Harris enters the 2028 presidential race, Newsom says he will not join her.
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