California Governor Gavin Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if it means campaigning against Kamala Harris, a striking concession from a governor who has pursued national political activity. Newsom made the comment during a fly-fishing trip on a Montana river, in an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Tapper pressed Newsom on what he meant by making room for Harris, and Newsom responded that the two Californians would compete too closely for the same supporters and donors if both entered the race. Newsom reportedly said a head-to-head contest between them would amount to mutually assured destruction, and that it would only benefit other candidates in the field. The interview was part of what CNN describes as a series of conversations with politicians in their favorite places, and this one took place at the same Stevensville, Montana ranch where Newsom married Jennifer Siebel Newsom in 2008, a property owned by her family at the time.
Newsom's deference is not entirely new. In a March 2026 interview on The Axios Show, he downplayed talk of a personal rift with Harris, telling the outlet, according to the Washington Examiner, that when she goes, she goes first — a description of an informal political hierarchy between the two that predates his latest comments by months.
A Rivalry Rooted in the Same San Francisco Ballot
Harris, the former vice president who lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, has indicated she is interested in running for president again, and has reportedly reached out to progressive groups as she weighs another campaign. Her 2024 run came together on a rushed timeframe after Joe Biden, the former president, dropped out of that race.
Newsom and Harris share political roots that go back more than two decades. Both won their first major citywide offices on the same December 2003 runoff ballot in San Francisco — Newsom as mayor, Harris as district attorney — according to KTVU, sharing a Bay Area political background. That shared history helps explain why a primary fight between them is seen as so fraught for California's Democratic establishment.
The relationship has not been without friction. In her August 2025 memoir, 107 Days, Harris wrote that Newsom failed to return her phone call when Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Newsom clarified in March 2026 that he had in fact texted her back, after having already issued a public endorsement, per the Washington Examiner.
Polling Gives Newsom a Reason to Wait
The electoral math backs up Newsom's caution. A September 2026 national tracking survey showed Harris leading the 2028 Democratic primary field with 24% support, while Newsom stood at just 12% — matching his lowest polling level of the year, as Hoodline previously reported.
Even so, Newsom has not been sitting still. He has campaigned for Democrats in southern states ahead of the midterms, visiting Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, part of a broader effort to build national donor relationships in Republican-leaning territory. He has also launched a podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, and authored a memoir titled Young Man in a Hurry, both aimed at expanding his profile beyond the governor's office. Term limits under Article V of the California Constitution force Newsom to step down when his second term ends in January 2027, adding urgency to whatever comes next.
The Constitutional Question Around a Joint Ticket
Even if the two wanted to team up rather than compete, the Constitution's rules would need to be considered. The 12th Amendment addresses whether an elector may vote for a president and vice president from the elector's home state; it does not bar candidates who reside in the same state from forming a ticket.
Meanwhile, Harris has deepened her own California footprint, recently purchasing a beach house in Malibu costing more than $8 million, according to Politico. Newsom, for his part, is also facing an expanding federal investigation into the California State Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit that funds his international travel; federal prosecutors issued subpoenas in September 2026 for six years of the group's records, as reported by the SF Standard. Newsom has dismissed the probe as political retribution.
Whatever the outcome, Newsom's Montana comments suggest a governor betting that patience, not a primary brawl, is his best path forward — a wager that leaves the 2028 Democratic field waiting on Kamala Harris to make the next move.
