Gavin Newsom Says He Won’t Challenge Kamala Harris for 2028

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a striking on-camera commitment this week, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper during a fly-fishing trip through Montana that he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris decides to enter the race. Asked directly whether he’d challenge his former running mate on the statewide Democratic ticket, Newsom didn’t hedge. “I wouldn’t run if she ran,” he said, a declarative answer that stood in sharp contrast to the more evasive responses he’s given reporters on the same question for the better part of a year.

Pressed on why, Newsom didn’t mince words either. “Of course not, why would I? I wouldn’t do it to her. I wouldn’t do it to you. I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time,” he told Tapper. The exchange, filmed for CNN’s “Out of Office” series, was notable enough that Tapper himself appeared visibly caught off guard by how definitive Newsom’s answer was, given how carefully the California governor has cultivated 2028 speculation up to this point.

Details & Background

Newsom’s reasoning centers on the overlapping coalitions he and Harris would be drawing from if both entered the primary. “I know her base of supporters. I know her friends. The zen diagram on that is just pure crossover,” Newsom explained, arguing that a head-to-head primary fight would accomplish nothing for Democrats. “Electorally, it’s a gift from God for everybody else. They’d enjoy the hell out of it, mutually assured destruction. It services no greater good,” he said, a clear reference to how a bruising intra-party fight would only benefit Republicans in the general election.

The comments mark a real evolution in how directly Newsom is willing to address the question. As recently as February, when CNN’s Dana Bash asked him about a potential matchup with Harris, Newsom offered a far vaguer answer, suggesting “fate” would determine how things played out. Since then, Harris has kept her own options open, and Fox News has reported that her recent travel schedule and public comments amount to the “strongest hint yet” that she’s seriously considering another run. Both Newsom and Harris are consistently named among the top tier of prospective 2028 Democratic contenders, alongside a handful of other governors and senators still weighing their own campaigns.

Reactions

Beyond Tapper’s visible surprise at the interview, Newsom also used the moment to address lingering tension with Harris stemming from her recent book, in which she reportedly took a veiled swipe at him. Asked whether the two actually get along despite rivalry chatter, Newsom pushed back hard on the premise. “That’s a preposterous premise of a question because we absolutely do,” he said, before acknowledging the book dig with some good humor: “She gave me a little shot as it relates to the actual truth of the walk I was on. I think it created some color for the book. It certainly helped her book sales.”

As of publication, national Republican figures and other Democratic prospects had not issued on-the-record reactions to Newsom’s comments. What is clear from Newsom’s own remarks, though, is that he sees the California donor and activist bases he and Harris share as too intertwined to support two competing campaigns, and he’s now willing to say so on camera rather than deflect.

Why This Matters to You

For Democratic primary voters, Newsom’s comments amount to one of the clearest signals yet about how the invisible 2028 primary is shaping up more than two years before the first votes are cast. If Harris runs, the party’s dominant West Coast, donor-heavy lane effectively consolidates behind her from the outset, changing the calculus for every other prospective candidate watching from the sidelines.

For everyone else, it’s a reminder of how early and how publicly modern presidential jockeying now plays out, even while both potential candidates remain focused on their current jobs and the more immediate 2026 midterm elections. Newsom still has more than two years left as California’s governor, and how he uses that time, and whether Harris ultimately jumps in, will shape the next chapter of a Democratic Party still working through what comes after 2024.