Kamala Harris Reveals Why She’s Not Running for California Governor

Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed why she is not running for California governor in a preview clip that dropped ahead of her full interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday.

Newsweek reached out to Harris’ office via email for additional comment.

Why It Matters

Harris has notably been out of the public spotlight since losing the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump in November.

Speculation mounted that Harris may throw her name into the race for California governor for the 2026 election. Early polling, however, also shows the former vice president as a strong contender for the Democratic primary in the 2028 presidential election, along with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, New York U.S. Representative Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

What To Know

In the clip, Colbert asks if Harris is not running for governor in order to run for another office. Harris responded “no, no,” amid a roar from the audience.

“Listen, I am a devout public servant. I have spent my entire career in service of the people. And, I thought a lot about running for governor, I love my state. I love California. I’ve served as just elected district attorney, attorney general and senator, but to be very candid with you, you know … when I was young in my career, I had to defend my decision to become a prosecutor with my family,” Harris said.

“One of the points that I made is, why is it then when we think we want to improve a system or change it that we’re always on the outside on bended knee or trying to break down the door? Shouldn’t we also be inside the system? And that has been my career,” Harris said. “Recently, I made the decision that I, just for now, I don’t want to go back in the system. I think it’s broken.”

Harris later added that she has believed that “as fragile as our democracy is,” those systems in the United States “would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles.” Harris said that she thinks “right now … they’re not as strong as they need to be.”

The former vice president is now interested in traveling the country to listen and talk with people and for it not to be “transactional.”

Colbert noted that it was “harrowing” to hear her say that the systems are broken, while Harris replied that she will always “be a part of the fight.”

This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.