Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris does

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an interview published Monday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2028 if former Vice President Kamala Harris does. 

Newsom, who leaves office in November due to term limits, is already considered a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028, though he has so far not formally declared his candidacy.

The governor told CNN's Jake Tapper that his decision to run for president was partly based on who else was seeking the nomination and that he would not divide the party by competing against Harris, despite her poor performances in the past. 

“I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see,” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t run if she ran. Why would I? I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me. … I won’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?”

Newsom claimed that if he did run against Harris, it would be a "gift" to Republicans and other Democratic presidential hopefuls because it would be "mutual assured destruction," and therefore, does not serve a greater purpose. 

The governor also acknowledged that people asked him to run against former President Joe Biden in 2024, to which he responded that he was not ready for the job at that point in time and that he believed Biden would still have won.

"If I did, I would have gotten crushed because I didn’t have a why," he said. "You don’t have a big enough why, then you don’t belong there. It’s shocking how many presidential candidates can’t answer their why." 

The governor added that he has seen “leading candidates over the last few cycles that are there for the wrong reasons. Or no reason at all, which is the worst. So, you’ve got to have a big enough why.”

Newsom additionally said that his wife and children would also need to be okay with him running for the White House, and that he wants to make a difference, even if that is not from the Oval Office.

The comment comes after Newsom appeared to be making moves that signaled a presidential run, including making two trips to South Carolina, which is the first state on the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating calendar.

The 2028 presidential primary campaign season is expected to officially start as soon as later this year, after the midterm elections.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.