Indecisive Kamala Harris Now ‘Leaning Toward’ Running For CA Governor

The 2026 California Gubernatorial election has been caught in a rut in the past few months.

No major candidate has announced they are going to run since Steve Hilton in April, and only a few issues have sprung up where everyone decided it was worth sending out a statement on. The first was paying for high-speed rail, which fewer and fewer candidates overall still want to support. The second was over the anti-ICE immigration raid protests and riots.

As has been for months, the main reason for everyone waiting to make their next move is because former Vice President Kamala Harris has been exercising indecision to Neville Chamberlain levels. It is a tough decision. She can run for Governor in 2026, run for President in 2028, look to run for another office, or simply retire and never get that Presidential library. Over the weekend multiple news outlets reported that she is now leaning towards running for Governor.

“She has a glimmer in her eyes,” said one source to The Hill who spoke to Harris about running. “She has a lot of people in her ear telling her that it makes the most sense and she can do the most good.”

Last month it was all about her possibly eyeing the presidency instead, so it should be all taken with a grain of salt. The L.A. anti-ICE riots likely influenced her, as she spoke about it often earlier this month. But that’s really about it.

She still has an end by summer deadline, meaning we may be here in mid-September still not knowing one way or the other. She’s currently leading Gubernatorial polls and (Democratic candidate) Presidential polls. But the Gubernatorial nomination is especially tricky. There is less than a year until Primary day, and her indecision is really screwing things up. Both Katie Porter and Eleni Kounalakis have said that they will drop out if she runs, while Ric Grenell said he would enter the race as a Republican candidate should she run. And that’s just who we know about. Other candidates could drop out or enter in a heartbeat.

It’s one thing if you need time to evaluate, build up a cash base, etc. Several potential candidates are still doing that, and candidates still have many months before the Secretary of State deadline to enter the race. But several candidates, mostly Democrats, are awaiting what she does, despite the fact she has the money, team, and virtually everything else in place to do so. There are Democrats and Republicans on both sides chomping on the bit to debate her and take her down a peg. And Harris? She needs a win after what happened last year against Trump – you think she would have been all in by now one way or another.

The current view is that Harris is leaning in running for Governor. The GOP is largely saying “bring it on” – Bianco, Hilton, and Grenell appear eager for that fight. But for the Democrats, this indecision is costing them each day in terms of money, support, and appealing to those undecided voters. And all they can say is that she is now thinking of running for Governor over President.