Kamala Harris launches into the 2026 midterms as her 2028 decision looms
Kamala Harris is diving into the midterms, campaigning with Democrats like Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan
As Kamala Harris mulls whether to run for president again, she's throwing herself into the midterms by campaigning with fellow Democrats, starting with a Tuesday trip to Michigan on behalf of Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
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she → launch → Sayed
It’s an especially notable destination for the former vice president.
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It → ’ → president
Michigan was one of seven battlegrounds she lost to Donald Trump two years ago, and it's now one of six states that will start Democrats' next presidential nominating process.
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that → lose → process
Harris has additional rallies scheduled in Nevada and Georgia, two other key places on the political map.
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rallies → have → map
Her campaigning could serve to solidify or undermine her status as a potential Democratic front-runner.
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campaigning → serve → runner
Although she's one of the nation's best-known politicians and a barrier-breaking figure, there are others eager to turn the page after she failed to defeat Trump when she replaced President Joe Biden on the top of the ticket.
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she → know → ticket
“I think she’s run her course,” said Barry Goodman, a Democratic National Committee member from Michigan who raised money for Biden and then Harris.
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who → think → Biden
“I just don’t think her running again would be the right thing for America moving forward.”
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America → think → ?
Some Democratic candidates, especially in places Trump won handily, have curtly dismissed any possibility of campaigning with Harris.
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Trump → win → Harris
“No thanks,” Iowa gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand told Politico.
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Sand → tell → Politico
“Let’s move on.
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’s → let → ?
We need some new leadership.”
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We → need → leadership
But plenty of Democrats, including some influential Black women who helped convince Biden to select Harris as his running mate in 2020, said she has more than earned the space to consider her options without being rushed or pilloried.
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she → include → options
Underscoring her unique position, California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently told CNN that he would not seek the nomination if Harris does.
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Harris → underscore → nomination
“Kamala isn’t under any deadline to run for anything,” said Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chair who managed Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000.
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who → run → 2000
She called it a “waste of time” to relitigate Harris’s truncated 2024 campaign and said any White House hopefuls “should follow Kamala’s lead and get out there" by trying to help midterm candidates.
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hopefuls → call → candidates
Harris has not announced any upcoming trips to South Carolina, where Democrats will hold their first primary.
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Democrats → announce → primary
Antjuan Seawright, a political consultant in the state, said she could make a strong case for herself but another campaign would need to look and sound different.
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campaign → say → herself
“She’s going to have to admit that she was wrong about some things,” he said.
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he → go → things
Harris has painful political history in Michigan.
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Harris → have → Michigan
During the 2024 campaign, the state's prominent Arab American communities were outraged over Biden's support for Israel's military operations in Gaza, and they were disappointed when Harris did not break with him after she became the party's nominee.
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she → outrage → him
El-Sayed, on the other hand, is an outspoken critic of Israel who has described the war as a genocide against Palestinians, an accusation rejected by Israel.
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who → describe → Israel
He's been viewed warily by some Jewish voters, which he's tried to address by apologizing for some past controversial comments.
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he → view → comments
El-Sayed told MSNOW that "there were some hurt feelings” in Michigan over the 2024 election, with some Black voters feeling like Arab Americans didn't do enough to help Harris.
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Americans → tell → Harris
With the former vice president coming to visit, he said it's a chance "to bring communities together that have often been torn apart by recent events.”
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that → come → events
Their joint appearance will be closely scrutinized for other reasons too.
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appearance → scrutinize → reasons
Harris has a strained relationship with the party's progressive wing, which includes El-Sayed, and El-Sayed is eager to solidify establishment support during his campaign against Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former congressman.
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Sayed → have → Rogers
“We can build together on the areas of agreement, and we can come to understand each other far better on the areas where we might have seen eye to eye, and I think her coming into town will help us to do that,” El-Sayed said.
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Sayed → build → that
Harris' political travel has been light compared to potential presidential candidates like Pete Buttigieg, who ran in 2020 before serving as Biden’s transportation secretary.
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who → compare → secretary
He recently visited South Carolina and he's been stumping for other Democrats in the midterms.
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he → visit → midterms
Harris went to South Carolina in the spring, but for smaller, local party events.
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Harris → go → events
She recently spoke on an organizing call aimed at registering and turning out 1 million more Black voters.
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She → speak → voters
“There’s value in doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes instead of being front and center, especially for her," said Bre Maxwell, a Democratic National Committee member from South Carolina.
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Maxwell → ’ → Carolina
She said there's little benefit for Harris to insert herself into news cycles knowing “she’s still a target of Donald Trump right now.”
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she → say → Trump
Jaime Harrison, a South Carolinian who served as national party chair when Biden and Harris were in the White House, said the former vice president’s stature affords her the advantage of time that other potential candidates will not have.
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candidates → serve → that
“Many of these folks who do get in quickly would love to have that type of name ID, would love to have that type of network, to have that type of email list,” Harrison said.
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Harrison → get → list
Harris herself has said multiple times, including in an Associated Press interview last year, that she feels no rush to decide her next move.
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she → say → move
“Right now – midterms, midterms, midterms,” she told Megan Rapinoe on a recent podcast.
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she → tell → podcast
Harris spokesman Eduardo Negrón declined comment when asked about her timeline.
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Negrón → decline → timeline
Harris' other campaign events this fall include stops for Nevada’s Democratic candidate for governor, Aaron Ford, and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who has generated 2028 chatter of his own as he seeks reelection.
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he → include → reelection
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
