Kamala Harris potential run for California governor met with indifference from policy influencers

California policy influencers are "indifferent" about former Vice President Kamala Harris running for governor in the state, a survey conducted by Politico and UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center found.

The poll surveyed California registered voters and a selected group of policy insiders, who included lawmakers, as well as state and federal government staffers. California's registered voters were more enthusiastic about Harris than the policy insiders, with 33% reportedly feeling "joyful" about the possibility.

Thirty-six percent of the policy influencers said they felt "indifferent" about Harris running for governor. Just 4% said they would be outraged, 22% said they were "mostly excited" and 20% said they were irritated by the potential gubernatorial bid.

Harris has not officially declared her candidacy in her home state, but has vowed to remain active in politics since losing to President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. She is also weighing a bid for the presidency in 2028.

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The former vice president received a low level of enthusiasm among independent voters in California, with 21% saying they felt "hopeless" about Harris potentially running, and 26% saying they felt "irritated" by the possibility.

Voters of color gave a mixed reaction to the possibility of Harris running. While 35% of Black voters felt "joyful" and 38% said they were "mostly excited," other voters of color weren't as enthusiastic. 

Nineteen percent of Latino voters said they felt "hopeless" about the former vice president running in California. Eighteen percent of Asian voters said in the survey that they felt "irritated" by Harris possibly launching a bid.

"It’s almost a surprising lack of enthusiasm," Jack Citrin, a political science professor at UC Berkeley, told Politico, referring to Latino voters. "But we know from the general election that Latino voters shifted as compared to 2020 or 2016 towards Trump."

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Harris became the 2024 Democratic nominee for president a month after former President Joe Biden decided to exit the race in the weeks that followed his disastrous debate performance against Trump. 

The former vice president cheered the resistance to Trump in a post on social media this month, saying, "Americans are standing up to the administration as they implement Project 2025 at full speed."

Harris also posted a clip on April 7 of a speech she delivered, during which she said, "I'll see you out there. I'm not going anywhere."

The former vice president has limited her public appearances since losing to Trump, unlike her 2024 running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, who has made several public appearances and given multiple interviews since the election.