Kamala Harris, eyeing a comeback since her election defeat, offered to campaign in Wisconsin’s closely watched Supreme Court race—only to be turned away by the state’s Democratic leaders.
Wisconsin Democrats rejected Harris’s offer to visit during early voting ahead of the April 1 election, fearing that the failed presidential candidate’s presence would be “a potential distraction during early voting,” sources told the New York Times. Even a Zoom call that Harris held with around 100 Democratic volunteers was kept under wraps until after polls closed, at the request of party officials.
Democrats went on to win the Wisconsin race without Harris’s public support.
The snub comes after Harris has largely vanished from public view since her November defeat—even as Democratic voters urge party leaders to take a stronger stand against the Trump administration. While other Democrats, including former Harris running mate Tim Walz, have crisscrossed the country with speeches and town hall events, Harris has stayed on the sidelines, giving no interviews and making few public appearances.
Behind the scenes, however, Harris has told allies that she is preparing to run for governor of California in 2026. Leading the state, Harris says, would allow her to challenge President Donald Trump and promote Democratic priorities without diving back into the national fray just yet, according to the Times.
Many Democrats disagree, telling the Times that “the 2028 election will be a contest for the party’s future in which she would be perceived as a figure of the past.”
Trump has said that he thinks Harris should run for governor.
“Let her run,” he told a podcaster. “One thing she’s going to do, she’s got to start doing interviews.”
