Gavin Newsom Says He Won’t Run If Kamala Harris Runs For President In 2028

California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris have long been considered two of the frontrunners in the Democratic presidential race, even as neither has officially declared that they are running for the 2028 nomination. Now, Newsom is throwing cold water on the prospect of a showdown between the two California heavyweight politicians by suggesting that another Harris run would prevent him from jumping in the race.

Newsom on potential 2028 Harris campaign: ‘I wouldn’t run if she ran’

Gov. Newsom made the comments about his presidential aspirations during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. As the two men engaged in fly fishing, Tapper questioned Newsom about other potential Democratic presidential candidates, including Kamala Harris. “I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see,” Newsom said, with Tapper claiming that Harris has “called around” in possible preparation for another run. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t run if she ran,” Newsom told a surprised Tapper. “Of course not, why would I do that?” Newsom insisted. “I wouldn’t do that to her, I wouldn’t do that to you, I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time,” he said, also arguing that running against Harris would be “mutually assured destruction.” Tapper pushed back, saying that the “counterargument would be, like, you know, she had a shot, and you’ve never run and she’s, she’s run twice.” Newsom, while not taking back his pledge not to run against Harris, acknowledged that Tapper’s argument “would be the approach to the campaign, certainly. That would be the case you’d make. Pretty good one actually.” Despite that equivocation, Newsom again dismissed the idea of running against Harris, claiming that their circles of friends and supporters have too much overlap. “I wouldn’t do that to…I wouldn’t do that,” Newsom again insisted.

Newsom tells @jaketapper he won’t run in 2028 if Kamala Harris runs. pic.twitter.com/auDjNdBlyr

— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 14, 2026

Reactions to Newsom’s apparent pledge not to run against Harris

Political analysts have been surprised by Newsom’s apparent pledge to defer to Harris, which constrains Newsom and seems to contradict the conventional wisdom that he has been gearing up for a presidential run as he ends his final term as Governor of California. Some have speculated that Newsom may have left himself some room to maneuver, such as launching his own presidential run before Harris announces her plans. Sarah Hill and Christian Grose, politics professors at Cal State Fullerton and University of Southern California, respectively, both agreed with Newsom’s strategic analysis that a race against Harris risked splitting their supporters. Newsom spokesperson Bob Salladay said that he could not offer any additional insights on the governor’s comments about his plans in the event of a Harris run, but Salladay insisted that Newsom and Harris have “been friends long enough that they wouldn’t play cat-and-mouse games on something this important.” KCRA journalist Ashley Zavala reported that the interview is more than one month old, but noted that a different Newsom spokesperson, Izzy Gardon — who reports to Salladay — reiterated “Yep, that’s what he said,” when asked if the comments still reflect Newsom’s thinking, while Harris’ camp has not responded to Newsom’s comments.

Gavin Newsom’s interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper was recorded more than a month ago.

I asked Newsom’s spokesman if his remarks on Kamala/Presidential run accurately reflect how he feels.

“Yep, that’s what he said.”

Nothing yet from Harris’ spokespersonhttps://t.co/Y7U0NcXV8B

— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) September 15, 2026

Speculation continues about possible Harris 2028 run

Meanwhile, Newsom’s comments have renewed interest in Harris’ potential 2028 plans. A new poll shows her with a slight lead in a crowded Democratic field, with only a few percentage points separating her from Newsom and others, such as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Meanwhile, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who supported Harris in her 2024 run, recently made remarks casting doubt on the ability of Harris to win in “a very noisy field” of Democratic candidates; he indicated that he was open to supporting one of the other potential candidates in the field, such as Ocasio-Cortez. Harris has not tipped her hand about her plans for 2028, but some of her moves, such as meeting with popular progressive New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and with pro-Palestinian activists, may indicate that she is laying the groundwork for a new campaign.

Neither Harris nor Newsom has officially announced their intentions to run for president in 2028. Newsom’s recent words about Harris have added a new wrinkle to the speculation about the Democratic presidential race, indicating that his decision to run may depend on her choice.

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