Gavin Newsom is weighing a 2028 presidential run. But he says he won’t run if Kamala Harris does: ‘Mutual assured destruction’

Gavin Newsom said he would stay out of the 2028 presidential contest if Kamala Harris chooses to run. The California governor delivered that message in a CNN interview that aired Monday evening.

Newsom described a race against Harris, another California Democrat, as something other candidates would welcome. He said, “They’d enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It services no greater good. Why would I do this if I wasn’t trying to serve some greater good? There would be no upside whatsoever.”

Newsom has been looking at a possible White House campaign and has never run for president. He noted that a campaign could argue Harris already had her opportunity after seeking the office in 2020 and 2024.

Newsom points to shared Democratic support in California

He called that argument “Pretty good one, actually. You know, that’s objectively true.” Newsom said the two share too much of the same backing. “I know her base of supporters; I know her friends,” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t do that to people,” he added.

Harris has not announced whether she will seek the presidency again in 2028. While speaking at the National Urban League Conference in July, she said that she has “not made a decision” and is concentrating on the midterm elections.

According to NBC News, Harris said earlier this year that she was considering a third presidential campaign. At an April event, she told the Rev. Al Sharpton she was “thinking about it.”

Newsom’s time as governor of California ends in a few months. He had said earlier that he would make a decision after the midterms and told CBS News last year that he would give the idea serious thought after the 2026 elections.

Newsom recently visited South Carolina, which is set to hold the first Democratic primary in 2028, and confirmed he was considering a run for president. Newsom’s potential candidacy has drawn attention from other political figures, such as when Hunter Biden praised the California governor while discussing his own possible 2028 run.

Harris’ office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Newsom’s statements. Meanwhile, the 2028 Democratic presidential field is already being mapped out, as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jon Ossoff are tied in prediction markets for the nomination. Newsom’s office did not immediately reply to a request for further comment on the CNN interview.