California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there’s one Democrat who could keep him out of the 2028 presidential race entirely: Kamala Harris.
“I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see,” Newsom told CNN’s Jake Tapper during an interview in Montana. “I wouldn’t run if she ran.”
Pressed on why, Newsom made clear he has no interest in turning decades of shared California political history into a presidential primary knife fight.
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“Of course not. Why would I?” he said. “I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me.”
Newsom said putting the two longtime allies on opposite sides of a Democratic primary would be a “waste of everyone’s time” and, politically, “mutual assured destruction.”
The reason is simple: their political worlds overlap almost completely.
“I know her base of supporters, I know her friends, the [Venn] diagram on that is just pure crossover,” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t do that to people. I wouldn’t put them in that position.”
He also acknowledged exactly who would benefit from watching two California Democrats tear into each other.
“Electorally it’s a gift from God for everybody else,” Newsom said. “They’d enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It serves no greater good.”
Neither Newsom nor Harris has announced a 2028 campaign, but both have left the door open. Newsom, who cannot seek another term as California governor, has spent more time outside the state and has increasingly fielded questions about a possible White House bid.
Harris, meanwhile, has also avoided ruling out another presidential campaign after losing to Trump in 2024.
For Newsom, though, one condition is now on the record: if Harris jumps in, he says he’s out.
Watch the clip below:
Newsom tells @jaketapper he won’t run in 2028 if Kamala Harris runs. pic.twitter.com/auDjNdBlyr
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 14, 2026
