Newsom’s Harris gamble: Clearing the field or betting she won’t run?

Published September 15, 2026 5:00pm ET




California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made one of the most consequential declarations in the early 2028 Democratic presidential race, saying that if former Vice President Kamala Harris runs, he won’t.

Newsom made the declaration to CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview filmed while the two men fly-fished in a Montana river and discussed the outgoing governor’s presidential ambitions.

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