After spending a few days in Hawaii following the election, the 60-year-old Democrat quietly lifted the veil on her future ambitions. “I'm staying in the fight,” she said on a call with party donors, without elaborating further on what that might look like. What future can Joe Biden's vice-president expect after his defeat against the Republican billionaire?
“Influence on public policies”
Washington is buzzing with rumors on the issue, with some already imagining Kamala Harris running for governor of California, the state where she is from, during the 2026 mid-term elections. In the United States, governorships are very prestigious since they consist of directing and defining the main orientations of a State on a host of issues, from the economy to social issues, including the climate.
This role is particularly significant in California, both the most populous state in the country and the 5th largest economic power in the world. Occupying such a role could “provide a huge platform for Harris,” notes political scientist Julian Zelizer. “This would allow him to become a leading national figure and influence public policy,” explains the Princeton University professor.
And therefore, perhaps, to run for the White House again in four years. It remains to be seen whether the vice-president would be best placed to wear the party's colors in 2028. Among the Democrats, plunged into painful introspection after having failed a second time to block the path of Donald Trump, opinions differ.
“Doubt your ability”
“The problem is that once you lose, and your defeat is so significant, many people within your party begin to doubt your ability to prevail in a major duel,” analyzes Julian Zelizer.
The names of the current governor of California Gavin Newsom, that of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer, or the Minister of Transport Pete Buttigieg, are already circulating as possible alternatives among the Democrats for the next election. Another possible option for Kamala Harris: continue to be in politics, without necessarily holding a mandate.
