She wanted to make history by winning the keys to the White House. But by failing to be elected head of the United States against Donald Trump, the political future of Kamala Harris remains uncertain. After spending a few days in Hawaii following her defeat in 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 claim 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 claiming the post of governor of California, the state where she is from, during the 2026 mid-term elections. In the United States, governorship positions 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.
Several names in the running
“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. A bit like Al Gore: unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2000 against George W. Bush, Bill Clinton’s vice-president remained in the spotlight by becoming a moral figure dedicated to the climate.
In 2006, the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and its main character greatly contributed to raising awareness about the speed of global warming. Crowned with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, the septuagenarian set about training “ambassadors” for climate action all over the world.
