Gavin Newsom Says He Won’t Run Against Kamala Harris in 2028, Drawing Immediate Skepticism

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will stay out of the 2028 presidential race if former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run, a declaration that immediately drew skepticism given years of speculation surrounding his own White House ambitions.

Newsom made the commitment during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper while the two were fly-fishing in Montana. Asked directly whether he would challenge Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, Newsom said he would not.

Newsom argued that he and Harris would draw support from many of the same Democratic voters, donors and political allies. Both built their political careers in California, and Newsom said the overlap between their respective political networks would make a head-to-head campaign damaging to both candidates.

The governor described a potential Newsom-Harris primary battle as a form of “mutual assured destruction,” reasoning that the two Californians could divide the same pool of supporters while creating an opening for another Democratic candidate to capture the nomination.

Tapper openly questioned the pledge, pointing out that Harris has already had opportunities to run for president while Newsom has never mounted a presidential campaign. Newsom acknowledged that such an argument could be made but maintained that he would not enter the race against her.

The statement represents a more definitive position than Newsom has taken previously. Earlier this year, when asked about the possibility that both he and Harris could compete in 2028, he declined to rule it out and suggested that future circumstances would determine what happened.

Newsom has long been discussed as a possible Democratic presidential candidate and has spent considerable time building a national political profile. His term as California governor is nearing its end, further fueling speculation about what he plans to do next.

Harris, meanwhile, has not announced whether she will seek the presidency again. She recently said her immediate focus is helping Democrats win the 2026 midterm elections and indicated that decisions surrounding 2028 can wait until after the congressional contests are settled.

Newsom’s promise has drawn skepticism from political observers who question whether he would actually remain on the sidelines if Harris entered the race. That skepticism is based partly on his increasingly national profile and the extensive speculation that he has been positioning himself for a future presidential campaign.

For now, Newsom is publicly drawing a clear line: if Harris launches another presidential campaign, he says he will not challenge her. Whether that commitment survives the political circumstances surrounding the 2028 Democratic primary would only become clear if both politicians ultimately face that decision.