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A new Harvard/Harris poll finds that former Vice President Kamala Harris has opened up a significant lead in the race for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Ms. Harris is the choice of 50% of Democrats surveyed, while her next closest competitor, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.), gets the nod from just 22% of the donkeys. Bringing up the rear is a cast of characters each polling in single digits. Oddly, this new presidential polling momentum for Ms. Harris arrives just as some Democrats wonder out loud if she really should be running for governor of California. A Monday announcement
makes one wonder if Ms. Harris is among them. Alexei Koseff reports for the San Francisco Chronicle: Former Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a slate of endorsements Monday ahead of California’s June primary, but she’s steering clear of the governor’s race where anxious Democrats have been trying to winnow a crowded field to avoid being locked out of the top two. Ms. Harris issued endorsements in the races for state treasurer,
attorney general and controller and mayor of Los Angeles. But she declined to endorse in the one race where her party is desperate to have at least one Democrat surge to new heights of popularity. The desperation comes from the fact that California does not have partisan primaries. All candidates compete in an open primary and the top two finishers, regardless of party, move on to face each other in the fall general election. Mr. Koseff explains the source of Democratic angst: The governor’s race… has attracted an unusually large number of Democratic hopefuls. Even after several high-profile exits, six prominent current or former elected officials are still running, raising fears they could split the vote and allow two top-polling
Republicans to advance to the runoff in November. A Harris endorsement could create a clear frontrunner, or at least nearly guarantee a top-two finisher. Surely she wouldn’t want her party to lose political control of the Golden State.
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