Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has an early lead against former Vice President Kamala Harris in California for a hypothetical 2028 presidential primary race, according to a new poll.
28% of Democratic primary voters support Newsom in the Golden State. That gives the term-limited governor double the support of Harris, who sits at 14%. The 2028 presidential primary poll was conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research and Politico.
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The numbers come as both high-profile Democrats weigh potential presidential bids in two years.
Newsom has been signaling he would enter the race after his second term as governor expires in January 2027. However, he has said he would be “happy to step aside” if a viable candidate that he supports starts running for the White House.
The governor has been in the public spotlight more recently since his memoir, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, was published late last month. He continues to promote the book in a multistate tour while positioning himself as an anti-Trump figure.
Harris has not been as prominent on the national stage in recent months, but she did launch a similar book tour last fall. In her memoir 107 Days, she recounted her short-lived 2024 presidential campaign.
Last month, the former Democratic presidential nominee said she hasn’t decided on a future White House run yet but confirmed she hasn’t ruled it out either.
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Compared to the new poll, a previous Citrin-Politico survey from last year showed a much narrower margin between the two presidential hopefuls. Newsom had 25% support at the time, and Harris had 19% support.
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are close behind Harris with 12% and 11%, respectively, among Democratic primary voters. Other potential candidates, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), are polling in the single digits.
Notably, the undecided portion of voters is about the same as the percentages for Harris, Shapiro, and Ocasio-Cortez.
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If Harris runs in 2028, this would be her third presidential campaign. Both times, she failed. By contrast, Newsom has not previously run for president.
As the California governor considers a gubernatorial bid, President Donald Trump is increasingly taking shots at him. At a Kentucky rally on Wednesday, he attacked Newsom’s mental fitness, suggesting his dyslexia diagnosis makes him unfit to be president. In a Truth Social post shortly after the rally, Trump claimed Newsom “is no longer a viable” option for president.