MSNBC Panelist Says Kamala Harris Backed Away From Governor Run Because Democrat Base Doesn’t Want Her

MSNBC panelist Mara Gay said on Thursday that former Vice President Kamala Harris refrained from a gubernatorial run at the behest of the Democratic base.

Harris announced on Wednesday that she will not enter the governor’s race in California or seek any other political position following speculation about her next electoral prospects. Gay said on “Morning Joe” that the Democratic base wants its former leaders to pass the torch to new faces to have a better chance at winning future elections.

“I think the key word in her statement there is ‘listening,’ and I think that this is a sign that Democratic leaders are actually hearing the base when the base says ‘we want new faces. We want new blood, new talent, younger talent.’ So of course, anything can change and politicians are notoriously ambitious, so we’ll see. But at the same time, hopefully it’s a signal to the [Democratic National Convention] as well that says ‘you know, let’s have an open, competitive primary.’ And I think that’s really important to individual Democratic voters. When you go out to individual Democratic voters, when you go out in swing states, when you go out and talk to voters, they say ‘we want to see who else is out there.’” (RELATED: ‘Start A Podcast’: Charlamagne Seems Unenthused About Prospect Of Kamala Harris 2028 Run)

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After losing the 2024 presidential election, Harris reportedly told her aides she wanted to leave her political options open, according to a Politico report from November. Some members of the California House of Representatives cast doubt on Harris’ ability to run a successful gubernatorial campaign in an interview with CNN.

“There’s no groundswell for her candidacy. In fact, I think it would only fire up Republicans and hurt our ability to win the four to five seats that we need to win to win the House and hold on to three seats that we just flipped in 2024,” one Democrat member in the California House told the outlet. “She comes in with baggage.”

Democrat donors were largely unenthused about the idea of Harris running to become governor or entering the 2028 Democratic presidential primary race. Political strategists have said that Harris’ loss to President Donald Trump and her campaign burning through $1.5 billion on celebrity appearances and interviews have likely hurt her chances of ever successfully running for president.

Democratic National Committee National Finance Committee member Lindy Li told News Nation during a Nov. 26, 2024, interview that she was “stunned” by Harris and her campaign’s lack of accountability for the massive spending, while Democratic donor John Morgan argued that the campaign spending should end Harris’ political career.

William Brown, Harris’ one-time boyfriend and former mentor, said during a July 22 episode of the “State of Gold Podcast” that he advised Harris to turn down the vice presidential gig and instead aim at becoming a Supreme Court justice. The former vice president said in 2016 that she did not want to be considered for a role on the highest court when former President Barack Obama had to fill a vacant seat.

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