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A new California poll shows that former Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris received overwhelming support in a hypothetical 2026 gubernatorial primary and 50% of respondents believe she should run for governor in 2026.
The survey, which was conducted by Emerson College Polling and published on Thursday (April 17), reported that 31% of respondents picked Harris as the candidate they'd support at this time, leading fellow Democrat Katie Porter at 8%, Republican Chad Bianco at 4% and several others while 39% said they were undecided.
Harris has reportedly set a deadline on whether she'll continue her political career by running for governor of California in 2026, two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Politico on March 7. The former vice president was reportedly asked by a pre-Academy Awards party attendee when she would make a decision on entering the gubernatorial race and gave a definitive answer of the end of the summer.
Harris would be able to succeed termed-out California Gov. Gavin Newsom while still focusing on another presidential campaign in 2028. The Emerson College Poll also asked voters if they thought Newsom should run for president in 2028, with a majority 49% responding "no."
Harris was the overwhelming preferred candidate for the 2028 election despite her 2024 election loss, according to a Puck News/Echelon Insights poll released on November 20, 2024. The former Democratic presidential nominee received support from 41% of respondents, while all other options were reported to be in the single digits and 16% said they were unsure.
Newsom was reported to be second with 8% support, followed by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at 7%. Harris was thrust into the 2024 presidential election following then-President Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign in July, with the vice president being limited to just 107 days on the campaign trail, the shortest general election presidential campaign in history.