USA14 September, 20262 min read
Gavin Newsom Tells Jake Tapper He Won’t Run for President in 2028 If Kamala Harris Runs
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Newsom says he won't run for president in 2028 if Harris runs. He made the remarks during a CNN interview with Jake Tapper in Montana.
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Newsom sets a condition
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he “won’t run for president in 2028” if former Vice President Kamala Harris runs again.
In the interview, recorded while Newsom and Tapper were fly fishing in Montana, Newsom said, “I wouldn’t run if she ran.”
Newsom framed the prospect as an electoral “gift from God for everybody else,” adding “Mutual assured destruction. It services no greater good.”
He also said he was not sure whether Harris would actually launch a bid, while acknowledging that a contest would pit two Democrats with overlapping constituencies against each other.
Tapper presses, polls loom
Tapper reacted to Newsom’s stance by asking, “If she runs, you will not?” and Newsom answered, “Of course not. Why would I?”
Newsom suggested that if both ran, Democrats would split their share of primary voters, saying, “I know her base of supporters. I know her friends,” and describing the overlap as “pure crossover.”
The Fox News account also reported that Harris holds a double-digit lead over Newsom among Democratic hopefuls by a 24.5-13.5% margin, citing the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Fox News further said that within a five-point margin are Pete Buttigieg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jon Ossoff, while noting Polymarket odds with Ocasio-Cortez over 19%, Ossoff at 16%, Newsom at 12.7%, and Harris at 8%.
Fox NewsWhat it means for 2028
Newsom’s pledge, as described by the New York Times, would force him to choose between keeping his word and pursuing a White House bid if Harris runs again, or reversing course and running against “a fellow California Democrat.” The New York Times also quoted a Newsom spokesman, Bob Salladay, saying, “They’ve been friends long enough that they wouldn’t play cat-and-mouse games on something this important.”
The Hill reported that Newsom’s comments were made in an interview on Monday while he was “fly fishing in Montana,” and it framed the decision as a way to avoid fighting over “similar bases of supporters.” Meanwhile, the same Hill account said the 2028 presidential primary race is expected to officially start as soon as late this year after the midterm elections, with many potential hopefuls expected to start announcing decisions after November.