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After 2024, many Democrats decided they don’t need – or particularly want – Kamala Harris to stump for them. Just as the Clinton brand became toxic after Hillary’s failure to defeat Donald Trump in 2016 or to accept said outcome, Harris now is the albatross so many now hope not to be saddled with. But unlike the former first lady, this former vice president totally gets it. Well, she thinks she does, anyway.
Graceful Acceptance
Kamala Harris has been ramping up her involvement in the 2026 midterms. Some Democrats have embraced the clout of their party’s former vice president. Others, though, see the weight of her association in a different way altogether. She’s hoping to attend a canvass launch next month in Las Vegas with Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford for his gubernatorial bid, and in an interview Tuesday, Ford explained her plans to attend and said it was what “anyone who is interested in 2028 should do.”
The same day, Harris publicly endorsed Rep. Chris Pappas in his Senate bid in New Hampshire. She also stepped into three House races: two Democratic-leaning districts in California and a solidly Republican one in Tennessee. Some of these candidates are thrilled. Others, not so much.
Both of Iowa’s hottest Democratic candidates at the moment said they don’t want her campaigning for them. When asked by reporters in Cedar Rapids if the former vice president should campaign for him, Senate candidate Josh Turek simply replied: “No.” Rob Sand, candidate for governor, said he didn’t want Harris or Biden to appear with him. Alaska’s Democratic nominee for the Senate, Mary Peltola, rejected a fundraising solicitation Harris sent for her.
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In western Wisconsin, Rebecca Cooke said in a statement to Politico: “I received 9,000 more votes than Harris in 2024. I don’t need anyone to come and campaign with me in my district. I do the work of building relationships – including across the aisle – on my own.” Cooke is running against incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the Badger State’s Third Congressional District, a highly competitive swing seat currently occupied by a Republican. That makes her “including across the aisle” remark just as relevant as her refusal to associate with Kamala Harris.
But in an interview with MS NOW’s Peter Alexander on Thursday, Harris says she understands. “I would expect nothing less,” she remarked, adding that she looks forward to campaigning with those who do want her help where she can be of use.
“Bottom line, we need to win,” Harris explained. “I have run locally, I’ve run for statewide office and obviously nationally, and these candidates know what they need to do to win. And I would expect nothing less.” So, has Kamala Harris finally seen the light and realized how toxic her name has become? Well, not quite.
Kamala Harris 2028 and Other Delusions
She went on to explain how she still looks forward to “being on the trail and helping folks” in their 2026 campaigns. When asked earlier this year if she would run for president again in 2028, she said: “I’m thinking about it.” Her “thinking about it” has the same feel as Joe Biden’s early reluctance to declare: Maybe she’s really undecided, or maybe she’s just holding out for a dramatic entrance to the race and doesn’t get that everyone else already has it figured out.
Her running almost seems certain, but her chances of winning – even just the Democratic Party primaries – certainly do not. A look at Polymarket betting data this morning shows that Harris comes in fourth at just 10% for 2028 Democratic presidential nominee behind Jon Ossoff at 20%, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with 19%, and Gavin Newsom at 16%. When looking at actual 2028 election-winning predictions, she’s presently number ten, behind all of the above and several others, including Michelle Obama. Even Donald Trump is ranked two spots higher than her in likelihood of winning in 2028, and he’s constitutionally forbidden from even running.
But 2028 may not be the only delusion the former VP and twice-failed presidential candidate currently suffers under. In her MS NOW interview, she explained that “’28 doesn’t matter if we don’t win ’26.” Certainly, the Democratic candidates in this election want to win – they wouldn’t run otherwise. But would taking the midterms really help the Democrats’ case for 2028, or hinder it? President Donald Trump has two more years in office, win, lose, or draw come November. Now, he has notched a few significant wins so far in his second term, but the Democratic minority in the Senate has proven quite effective at holding back the tide of the full Trump and GOP legislative agenda.
There’s only so much Republicans can do with such slim majorities in Congress – but so long as they hold that trifecta, Democrats can take the double-barrel approach of blaming them both for any hyper-partisan measures or controversial executive actions that do take place and any failure to pass legislation or approve funding. Should Democrats take either chamber of Congress – or even both – they still won’t be able to pull off what they really want. Without a friendly president to sign them, even Democratic majorities in the House and Senate together can’t advance their own legislative agenda. And without a supermajority in the Senate, a Democratic majority in the House can’t effectively remove Trump. Sure, they could impeach him until the cows come home once taking over in January of 2027. But Trump already proved that a pair of impeachments are survivable – and this time he doesn’t have a re-election to worry about.
So Harris – and those hoping for her endorsement – may still be playing politics in their own fantasy league. But at least she has come to terms with the fact that she isn’t universally adored and desired. Perhaps she won’t go full Hillary after all.
