Newsom Says He Won't Run for President in 2028 If Harris Does: What It Means for California

Governor Gavin Newsom told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris enters the race.“I wouldn’t run if she ran,”Newsom said in an interview recorded more than a month ago. CNN released a short clip Monday showing the two fly fishing, with the full report set to air Tuesday morning. Newsom also described a potential matchup as“mutually assured destruction.”

His spokesman, Izzy Gardon, confirmed the clip reflects Newsom’s position. A spokesperson for Harris did not respond to a request for comment Monday night. The timing is worth noting: the interview sat for over a month before any of it became public, which means the conversation predates the news cycle it is now landing in.

For Sacramento listeners, this is a local story with national reach. Newsom is a second-term governor with an established donor network and a national profile, and he just took himself off the board publicly, before the 2028 field takes shape. If Harris gets in, he has made a promise in front of a national audience. If she doesn’t, the promise costs him nothing. Either way, it tells us something about how California’s two most visible Democrats are positioning themselves.

Do you think Newsom sticks to this if Harris runs? Let us know in the comments.