- Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill
- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
Gavin Newsom's vow to sidestep a 2028 presidential run for Kamala Harris was delivered during a fly-fishing trip in mid-August.
asserted
vow → sign → August
'That doesn't even make sense to me,' a bewildered Jake Tapper responded on CNN after Newsom's head-shaking reveal aired earlier this week.
asserted
reveal → make → CNN
'She had a shot, you've never run and she's run twice.'
asserted
she → have → shot
Newsom's assertion struck like a thunderbolt among alarmed Democratic donors, but political strategists came away wondering if Newsom was really serious.
asserted
Newsom → strike → donors
By the time the interview aired, the California governor had already worked a four-event swing in two days through South Carolina, the state Democrats have selected to kick off their primary.
asserted
Democrats → air → primary
'I think he's messing with her, getting in her head,' a former Harris advisor told the Daily Mail.
asserted
advisor → think → Mail
Another unaligned Democratic strategist also ascribed a more sinister notion to Newsom's pledge, saying it appeared as if he was trying to 'isolate' Harris from potential donors, by setting up a 'him vs. her' dynamic.
asserted
he → ascribe → dynamic
If donors want Newsom to run, they have to convince Harris not to run first.
asserted
they → want → Harris
California Governor Gavin Newsom shocked donors by vowing not to run in 2028 if Kamala Harris wanted another shot
Kamala Harris is making it clear she's interested in taking another shot for president
Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom rose up in California politics together and were mentored by California political kingpin Willie Brown
Newsom expressed concern if Harris entered the race, the two Californians would face 'mutual assured destruction,' in a fight over the same set of voters and funders.
asserted
Californians → shock → voters
Newsom has stepped aside for Harris before as the pair climbed politics in tandem.
asserted
pair → step → tandem
When Newsom ran mayor of San Francisco, Harris ran for district attorney of the city.
asserted
Harris → run → city
When Newsom ran for lieutenant governor, she ran for attorney general, and when he signaled he was running for governor, she chose California's open Senate seat in 2016.
asserted
she → run → 2016
Harris then set her eyes on the presidency.
asserted
Harris → set → presidency
She ran twice and did not succeed, making the case for deference far weaker this time, prominent Democrats unaffiliated with Newsom told the Daily Mail.
asserted
Democrats → run → Mail
Spokespeople for Newsom and Harris did not respond to requests for comment.
asserted
Spokespeople → respond → comment
Civil rights leader Al Sharpton read the pledge as pure positioning, posting on social media that Newsom wanted supporters to know 'he wouldn't interfere with a black woman having a second chance.'
Other Democrats saw the same eventual payoff.
asserted
Democrats → read → payoff
'If she doesn't run, he gets credit with black voters for being deferential AND her endorsement will be among the most coveted in the primary,' a Democratic strategist told the Daily Mail.
asserted
strategist → run → Mail
Gavin Newsom talks with voters as he campaigns in South Carolina
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at a campaign rally with Newsom in 2021
Gavin Newsom takes a photo with a South Carolina voter during a political tour in the state
asserted
Newsom → talk → state
The money, meanwhile, has already moved on.
asserted
money → move → ?
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a powerful Democratic donor, warned publicly that Harris faces 'a very challenging path' - and donors who spoke to the Daily Mail remain furious about the more than one billion dollars she burned through before losing to Trump in 2024.
asserted
she → warn → 2024
Newsom's pledge only sharpens the pressure on her to make way for a fresh face, one strategist said.
asserted
strategist → sharpen → face
Harris is not taking the hint.
asserted
Harris → take → hint
Her case, laid out in her bestseller 107 Days, is that she was handed a fraction of a campaign and deserves a whole one with her own identity on the line.
asserted
she → lay → line
Her slogan - 'don't let anybody tell you no' - resurfaced last week on a podcast with retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe, where she laughed off the question of why she is back in the arena with a line from the Godfather: 'They pulled me back in.'
asserted
They → let → me
She added that 'I don't know a life' outside politics.
asserted
I → add → politics
That drew a flat response from one Democratic strategist, who told the Daily Mail they had 'no idea' who was supposed to be doing the pulling.
asserted
who → draw → pulling
Harris has been working the South for months, betting everything on South Carolina where black voters dominate the primary electorate, and where Joe Biden resurrected a corpse of a campaign in 2020 after he struggled among the whiter and more progressive voter pools in Iowa and New Hampshire.
asserted
he → work → Iowa
Harris knows the money isn't with her, one strategist said.
asserted
strategist → know → her
She thinks the Southern state can fix that with one swift victory.
asserted
state → think → victory
Harris currently enjoys national recognition, giving her an edge in the polls.
asserted
Harris → enjoy → polls
A recent HarrisX poll showed that Harris currently leads the 2028 Democratic primary field with 42 percent.
asserted
Harris → show → percent
Newsom comes in second with 17 percent and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in third place with 12 percent.
asserted
Buttigieg → come → percent
Harris enjoys 60 percent of the black vote while Newsom only has 14 percent support.
But she also enjoys nearly universal name recognition, having served as vice president and since becoming the surprise nominee in 2024.
asserted
she → enjoy → 2024
Newsom is less likely to defer to Harris this time, sources tell the Daily Mail
As Vice President, Harris visited Governor Newsom after the horrific California wildfires in 2020
Kamala Harris knows that donors will only back her if she can win convincingly in the state of South Carolina
Democrats are braced for a crowded and bloody 2028 field, and operatives are preparing for the stampede to the first nominating state.
'
asserted
operatives → defer → state
People have to come here first.
asserted
People → have → ?
You gotta show up and prove that you care,' South Carolina Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright told the Daily Mail.
asserted
Seawright → got → Mail
'But no one is going to hand her or any of the other potential candidates the nomination,' Democratic strategist Joe Trippi added.
asserted
Trippi → go → nomination
Now Democrats wait and see if Newsom will actually tamp down his ambition if Harris ramps up hers.
asserted
Harris → wait → hers
'This is not his first time in the state,' Seawright said of Newsom, 'and his latest visit provided a shot of energy to his momentum.'
asserted
visit → say → momentum
The Aporia
