Vice President Harris, who’s considering a run for governor in California, holds a double-digit lead over a hypothetical 2026 gubernatorial discipline, new polling reveals.
New data from the College of California at Irvine’s College of Social Ecology discovered Harris with 24 % assist when held in opposition to different declared and rumored candidates.
Businessman-turned-politician Rick Caruso, who’s reportedly contemplating a run for governor subsequent yr, was subsequent up, with 9 %.
Regardless of Harris’s lead, a whopping 40 % of Californians mentioned they’re not but positive which candidate they’d assist to exchange term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
However the former vp fared even higher when respondents have been requested to decide on between her and a generic Republican, incomes 41 % assist to 29 %, respectively.
The UCI polling additionally discovered Harris with a optimistic web 11 % favorability ranking amongst Californians, the very best amongst candidates examined.
After her 2024 loss within the presidential race, the political world is in suspense about Harris’s subsequent strikes.
She’s reportedly giving serious consideration to a run for governor within the Golden State, which she beforehand represented within the Senate and the place she served as state Lawyer Basic. She’s mentioned to have given herself till the top of the summer season to determine whether or not to enter the ring and, within the meantime, the wait has had considerably of a chilling effect on the gubernatorial discipline.
California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond (D) have been operating since 2023. Additionally within the ring on the Democratic aspect are former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), former U.S. Well being Secretary Xavier Becerra, former State Meeting Speaker Toni Atkins, former state Controller Betty Yee and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D).
California Lawyer Basic Rob Bonta (D) in February determined in opposition to a run for governor, telling Politico that Harris’s candidacy “can be field-clearing.”
Harris has additionally cropped up in early 2028 polling as a Democratic frontrunner for one more White Home bid — although the latest Emerson College data discovered assist for one more Harris presidential bid fall in latest months, placing her in second place behind former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg amongst a discipline of potential 2028 contenders.
UCI carried out two statewide polls in partnership with Trudeot. The primary, which included the Harris favorability query, surveyed 2,143 California adults from Might 27-June 2. The second, which included the gubernatorial poll query, surveyed 2,000 California adults from Might 29-June 4. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.9 proportion factors for the primary survey and three.6 factors for the second.