Kamala Harris: After Election Defeat, What’s Next?

Exactly two months after losing the election to Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over her own confirmation of defeat.

As Senate president, she will stand at the speaker’s rostrum of the House on Monday to lead the counting of Electoral College votes, officially marking her opponent’s victory two weeks before she returns to the White House. Will stabilize.

The situation is painful and awkward for a candidate who has described her opponent as an immediate threat to American democracy, but Harris’ aides insist she will carry out her constitutional and legal duties seriously and gracefully.

It’s not the first time a losing candidate has led a joint session of Congress to challenge his presidential opponent — Al Gore in 2001 and Richard Nixon in 1961.

But it’s a fitting coda to an improbable election that saw Harris go from the nation’s oldest president to the Democratic standard-bearer — whose short-term campaign gave his party a glimmer of hope, the Before the crushing damage exposed deep internal faults.

Harris and his team are now mulling his second move, whether that includes another run for the White House in 2028 or a run for the governor’s mansion in his home state of California. Bidding is included.

While recent Democratic candidates who lost the election — Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton — have decided against re-seeking for the presidency, aides, allies and donors say the base of support for Harris is a failure. The bid and its campaign were achieved under unusual circumstances. Proves he still has room to find the Oval Office.

They even point to Donald Trump’s own bumpy political path — the former and future president’s bookend wins in 2016 and 2024, despite losing in 2020 as the incumbent.

But while many Democrats don’t blame Harris for Trump’s win, some — in the wake of a heavy loss that has called the party’s strategy into question — want to give him another shot at the White House. There is deep suspicion about A host of Democratic governors who rallied behind the vice president in 2024 but have ambitions of their own are seen by some strategists as new candidates with better chances of winning.

Harris herself is said to be in no rush to make any decisions, telling advisers and supporters that she is open to all the possibilities that await her after Inauguration Day on January 20.

She’s taking stock of the past few months, in which she launched an entirely new White House campaign, vetted a colleague, led the party’s convention and took the country by storm in just 107 days. And aides say she will remain US vice president for at least two more weeks.

“He has a decision to make and you can’t make it while you’re still on the treadmill. He may have slowed down — but he’s on the treadmill until Jan. 20,” said Donna Brazile, of Harris. Close allies who advised the campaign

“You can’t put anybody in a box,” said Brazile, who ran Gore’s campaign against George W. Bush. “We didn’t put Al Gore in a box, and obviously the country was very divided after the 2000 election.” was,” his second life as an environmental activist. “All options are on the table because there is an appetite for change and I believe she can represent that change in the future.”

But the nagging question that overshadows any potential 2028 run is whether the 60-year-old can separate himself from Joe Biden — something he failed to do on the campaign trail.

His allies in the party say Biden’s choice to run for re-election despite concerns about his age, only to eventually drop out of the race months later, doomed his candidacy.

Although Trump swept all seven battleground states and is the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years, his margin of victory was relatively small while Harris still won 75 million votes, his Supporters say the result cannot be ignored that they are currently faceless. The Democratic Party rebuilds over the next four years.

On the other hand, those close to Biden believe he could have beaten Trump again, despite polls showing him bleeding support from key Democratic voting blocs.

They pointed out that Harris fell short where the president had not been in 2020, doing poorly with core Democratic groups like black and Latino voters. Critics continue his 2019 campaign to become the Democratic presidential nominee, which ended in less than a year.

“People forget there used to be a real primary. [in 2024]She would never have been nominated. Everybody knows that,” said a former Biden adviser.

The adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, praised Harris for reviving the Democratic base and helping key congressional races, but said Trump’s campaign has Successfully narrowed down key campaign issues, including the economy and the border.

However, members of Trump’s team, including his chief pollster, have acknowledged that Harris has performed stronger as a candidate than Biden on certain issues, such as the economy, among voters.

Still, there’s no escaping the fact that any Democratic primary contest for 2028 will be a tough fight, with rising stars like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom first. He is participating in the presidential elections.

Some Democrats say Harris will start ahead of the pack anyway, with national name recognition, a highly coveted mailing list and a deep bench of volunteers.

“What state party wouldn’t want him to help set the table for the 2026 midterm elections?” Brazil said. “He will have ample opportunity not only to rebuild but also to strengthen the coalition that came together to support him in 2024.”

Others have suggested that she might withdraw from politics altogether, run a foundation or establish an institute of politics at her alma mater, Howard University, a historically black college in Washington. where he held his election night party.

The former top state prosecutor could also be a contender for secretary of state or attorney general in a future democratic administration. And she will need to decide if she wants to write another book.

For all her power, Harris has told aides, she wants to remain visible and be seen as a leader in the party. An adviser suggested that she could exist outside the domestic political arena, taking a more global role on an issue that is important to her, but without as big a platform as the vice president. is a difficult perch.

In the waning days of the Biden-Harris administration, she plans to embark on a multi-region international tour, according to a source familiar with the plans, to maintain her global presence and build a legacy beyond Biden’s. It indicates your desire. Number two

For Harris and his team, the weeks since the election have been humbling, a mix of grief and determination. Several aides described a three-month sprint that began when Biden began the campaign “digging a hole” and ended with his candidate as he started, even if she didn’t win. .

“There’s a sense of peace knowing that the hand we were dealt, we ran through the tape,” said one senior aide.

After the election, Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, spent a week in Hawaii with a small group of aides to relax and discuss their future.

During a staff holiday party at his official residence before Christmas, Harris recounted election night and how he had a pep talk with his family as the results became clear.

“We’re not having a pity party!” He told the crowd about his reaction that night.

Advisers and allies say she is still processing what happened, and wants to wait and see how the new administration unfolds in January before taking office, any so-called Trump. Quit trying to be the face of the “resistance”.

Democrats have found that the resistance movement that began among liberals after their 2016 victory no longer resonates in today’s political climate, where Republicans have proven that their message and style resonate with Americans. Appeals to a large segment.

They have adopted a more conciliatory approach to countering the incoming president’s agenda. As several Democrats have said: “What resistance?”

Although he has kept a relatively low profile since his loss, Harris provided a glimpse into his mindset at an event for students at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland in December.

“Civil rights, women’s rights, labor rights, the movements for the United States itself would never have started if people had given up on their cause after a court case, a fight, or an election. That way,” he said.

“We must be in the fight,” he added, something he has avoided since winning the Senate in 2016. “Every one of us.”

What this means is less clear. For some donors and supporters, staying “in the fight” could translate to a run for California governor in 2026, when the term-limited Gavin Newsom leaves office and potentially abandons his White House ambitions. Will follow. The job, which leads the world’s fifth-largest economy, would also put Harris in direct conflict with Trump, who has regularly attacked the state for its left-leaning policies.

But governing a large state is no small feat, and will derail any presidential race, as she will take the oath of office at the same time she needs to launch a national campaign.

People who have spoken to Harris said he is undecided about a run for governor, which some allies have described as a potential “capstone” to his career.

She has won statewide office three times, as Attorney General of California and later as a U.S. Senator. But winning the governorship would give her another historic honor – she would become the nation’s first black female governor.

Still, some allies acknowledge that the transition will be difficult from being inside a 20-car convoy and having a seat at the table from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the governor’s mansion.

The private sector is another option.

“For women at other levels of office, when they lose an election, sometimes they don’t have as many options available to them as men, who get a stint at a law firm or an insurance business, and “It gives them a chance to lose,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “Make some money and then decide what’s next.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem for Kamala Harris. I think the doors will open for her if she wants to open them.”

But for Harris, who has been in elected office for two decades, and previously served as a state attorney, a later life as governor may be the most fitting option.

“When you have one client – people – for your entire career,” said one former consultant, “where do you go from here?”