Is the 2026 race for the governor of California the first presidential primary of 2028? – Orange County Register

Could the road to the White House cross… Sacramento?

If so, hope it is as good as the high -speed train from California.

According to a new survey, if the former vice-president Kamala Harris decides to officially enter the 2026 race for the Governor of California, the office is his for taking.

The survey, sponsored by Emerson College Polling / Inside California Politics / The Hill, registered California voters revealed that if the elections were today, 57% will support Harris, with everyone * who weighed figures ( * with the exception of the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, which is currently the survey of negative 37).

In fact, the only thing that was thinking lower than Karen Bass right now is the part-time show of Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl.

Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson Colling Polling, said that Harris’ support from his Californian colleagues was robust and crushing. “Harris support is the strongest among women (60%), Hispanics (61%) and black voters (64%),” he concluded.

Kamala also kills it with voters who have yoga carpets, have a gratitude practice or cried when Joy Reid’s show was canceled on MSNBC.

Admittedly, these results already have an impact on the decisions taken by declared and potential candidates for the highest post in the State.

For years, the California Attorney General Rob Bonta has his eyes on the governor’s manor. However, to the surprise of many, he recently decided to request a re -election as a prosecutor General and Back Harris to succeed in the deceased governor Gavin Newsom. Bonta recently explained her decision to Politico, saying: “Kamala Harris would be a big governor … I would support her if she was running, I always supported her in everything she did. It would be in terms of field. »»

The way I see it, one of the two reasons would motivate Harris to jump in the race for the governor – or she is looking for a gentle landing after having lost against President Donald Trump in November, and prefers that history can remember her as the woman who bounced after a overwhelming loss and became director general of the greatest state of the Union – as a loser who disappeared from the public scene. Or, she is looking for a way to remain relevant so that she can present herself again for the presidency in 2028.

According to Richard Nixon’s former speech writer and author of the book “Behind the closed doors: in the room with Reagan & Nixon”, Ken Khachigian, the latter is exactly what Richard Nixon did after losing the 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy. “Nixon did not really want to be governor of California, and he thought that Kennedy was unbeatable in 1964. However, there was enormous pressure from Eisenhower and other national political figures to manage. When we worked on his memories, Nixon told me 1962: “Unless you come with the party when he needs you, that won’t need you.” This comment suggested that in 1961, he was still looking forward to, and to “stay in the game”, he needed a leading political profile. Whether or not his motivation is another race for the presidency, he clearly thought that a withdrawal from the political arena could make him out of words as a major actor. »»

Ken also told me that if Kamala Harris runs, she can have motivations different from those of Nixon. “If she does not present herself to the post of governor and does not win, she descends into history as a losing candidate for the presidency who arrived by meeting a box to check diversity, which could not go to the first presidential primary when it tried it by itself, and whose career was largely dependent on the good fortune to be linked to donors, sponsors and mentors – innate. I also believe that it would be motivated by pure vanity and the need to be installed again in the accessories of the office, with drivers, bodyguards, planners – as well as the international title cachet. On July 20, her protection of secret services moved away and she will be desperate again for the careful care of the servant’s class, “he said.

If Harris ends up pressing the trigger and presenting herself to the post of governor, whether it is ultimately running for the presidency or not, she will almost certainly be part of each ballot of the future candidates for the White House and will be considered as a leading candidate, to say the least.