Tick tock, Kamala — California’s getting tired of waiting

Robin Epley, Tribune News Service

California is not a consolation prize for losing the presidency, and a Kamala Harris run for governor isn’t going to inspire an electorate that is fed up with the Democratic Party’s staid-and-afraid status quo. That being said, if Harris is going to run for governor of California — good God, get on with it already. The former Vice President recently set an unofficial deadline to announce by “the end of summer” — but wasn’t specific about a particular date. (What exactly is the “end of summer,” anyway? The last 100-degree day? The last pitch of an MLB game? When they stop serving Aperol spritzes at Ella?) But these “will she or won’t she” games belong to a homecoming queen race, not a gubernatorial one.

“I could make all sorts of arguments for her and why she should and could do any number of other things,” Brian Brokaw, a Democratic political consultant who served as the manager for Harris’ successful campaigns for California Attorney General and for Senate. “(But) if there’s one thing I know about her, it’s that she doesn’t care what the rest of us think. She is going to make up her own mind.” Fair point. But I’m pretty sure running for political office means you have to care a teeny tiny bit about what other people think of you.

The most recent numbers look good for Harris, anyway: A new poll by UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology recently showed some good news for a Harris campaign, with 24% of respondents saying they’d vote for her over any other declared or rumored candidates. She fared even better when pitted against literally any potential Republican — 41% to just 29%. (Sad trombone noises. It’s still California, after all.)

But there were a concerning number of respondents to that same poll, 40%, who said they’re not yet sure who they’d vote for to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom. That’s an awful lot of votes left on the table, and Harris has not habitually fared well with undecided voters. And, the disillusionment of California voters with the Democratic Party starts with the humiliating loss last November — for which Harris is the poster child. “There’s a torrent of discontent in the (Democratic) party,” Mike Madrid, a former political director for the California Republican Party who is currently consulting for Stephen Cloobeck, a time-share billionaire and outsider Democratic candidate who is running for California governor in 2026.

“They want a different message and messenger,” Madrid said. “(California is) disaffected by the majority party ... It’s materialising as low voter turnout, or being civically-engaged at all. They don’t believe that the Democratic Party is doing anything to benefit them, (and) I think the elected politicians are having a hard time gaining traction.” So I see why some Republicans must be salivating at the idea of another Harris run in California. They beat her once already, though doing it again in her home state that went blue by 58% would be significantly more difficult.

Meanwhile, top Dems who have already declared their intentions — including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former state Controller Betty Yee and state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond would likely step aside if Harris finally pulled the trigger on a run. But neither has Harris’ possible inclusion totally cleared the field: Former Attorney General Xavier Becerra and former mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa have said they would stay in the race, regardless. And both former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and former state Senate leader Toni Atkins recently announced they’d stay in, too; the latter saying in a statement that, “while the vice president has her own path, our campaign is moving full speed ahead.”

In fact, I think some of them are actually hoping she will, so they can bow out of the race gracefully without looking like they fumbled the bag in announcing too soon. (Lookin’ at you, Eleni!) If Harris was going to throw her hat in the ring, she should have done it by now to try and capitalize on some of the anger that Californians felt in the immediate aftermath of the last election. Now we’re just tired and sad, and neither of those emotions is a great start for a candidate, even if “real human beings” attentions aren’t yet on the November 2026 race.