Former Meet the Press host Chuck Todd was incredibly skeptical over a possible California gubernatorial run by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2026, saying he would be “shocked” if she pursued this.
Harris’s name has been floated as a candidate for either the 2026 California gubernatorial election or the 2028 presidential election, with Todd arguing that running in the former race would rule out running in the latter. However, a major challenge that Harris and “any conventional Democrat” running in California’s 2026 election will face is that the Democratic Party has held the governor’s mansion for 16 years and voters will look to someone from “the outside.”
“And I think that Harris, somebody who’s the former vice president, former U.S. senator, former district attorney in San Francisco, I just — you know, how does she sell change?” Todd said on NBCLA. “She’s got to somehow run against Gavin Newsom’s governorship, so I just don’t see the path for her. I could see an outsider Democrat being able to message this. I think it’s a tough place for her to be.”
Due to this challenge that Todd says Harris would face in the 2026 election, Todd advised the former vice president to “be above politics for a couple of years” and get involved in Los Angeles with either its rebuilding process from the wildfires or its 2028 Olympics committee. After this, he suggested that Harris could return to politics in 2030 or 2032.
When asked about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, Todd said he was “intrigued by it” but expressed hope that Newsom would talk with his “leading critics” within California. Todd cited Newsom’s “relative unpopularity” within his own state as “an anchor on him” should he pursue a 2028 presidential run, and the governor should find a way to navigate this to place him in a “better position” for the White House.
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Ahead of the 2026 elections, President Donald Trump told Harris she cannot avoid the press and needs to “start doing interviews.” His comment was given shortly after his administration revoked the security clearances of Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Joe Biden’s inner circle.
One candidate who has announced she will run in California’s 2026 election is former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who said she is running to “hold Trump accountable.” Meanwhile, Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 running mate, clarified she would not seek the governor’s mansion next year but that she would be supporting those who “continue to be brave enough to stand up against harmful political ideology to do what is right for the people.”