The Democratic Party may be heading toward one of the most unusual presidential nomination battles in modern political history. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom appear to be on a collision course for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. The two California politicians have spent more than two decades climbing the same political ladder, competing for many of the same donors, advisers, and supporters while carefully avoiding a direct electoral confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That long-running rivalry may finally be reaching its inevitable conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many Democrats, Harris and Newsom represent two of the party’s most recognizable national figures. Yet in reality, they also represent something else: a party struggling to find fresh leadership after years of electoral setbacks and policy disappointments. The prospect that these two deeply flawed politicians could emerge as the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination raises an uncomfortable question. Is the Democratic Party preparing to place its future in the hands of two candidates whose records have already generated deep skepticism among voters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Rivalry Years in the Making<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Wall Street Journal recently described Harris and Newsom as “like two cats, circling each other in an alley for years, politically speaking.” The comparison is fitting. Both launched their careers in San Francisco politics. Both benefited from many of the same political networks. Both steadily climbed through California’s Democratic establishment while carefully monitoring each other’s ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, both appear positioned for a possible 2028 campaign. Newsom is widely expected to run once his governorship concludes. Harris remains publicly undecided but has openly acknowledged that she is considering her political future after her 2024 defeat. While both continue to insist they respect one another, numerous reports suggest a long history of rivalry, competitive maneuvering, and occasional personal friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question facing Democrats is not whether these two politicians could compete. The question is whether either has demonstrated the kind of leadership that can convince voters they deserve the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Incompetence of Kamala Harris<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris has spent much of her national political career struggling to define a consistent public identity. Even before becoming vice president, her 2020 presidential campaign collapsed before a single vote was cast. Despite entering the race as one of the most heavily promoted candidates in the Democratic field, she failed to build lasting support among Democratic voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Criticism of Harris has come not only from Republicans but also from Democrats. Reports in major media outlets have described concerns among Democratic insiders regarding her political communication skills and her ability to connect with voters. Some party strategists openly questioned whether she could successfully lead the party in a national election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her tenure as vice president did little to silence those concerns. Critics point to repeated public gaffes, awkward interviews, and messaging struggles that often overshadowed policy initiatives. Opponents also highlight her role in the Biden administration’s handling of immigration issues, arguing that the administration failed to address growing concerns along the southern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris’s role as the Biden administration’s designated “border czar.” While Harris repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining a secure and orderly border, critics she didn’t bother visiting the southern border until it became a political liability, especially as illegal border crossings reached record levels during the Biden administration. Harris became a symbol of an administration that spoke about border security while millions entered the country illegally, overwhelming border communities and fueling public concerns about immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Harris has often emphasized her status as the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, her political messaging has at times relied heavily on identity symbolism rather than policy accomplishments. Harris’s upbringing, professional background, and political career placed her far from the day-to-day experiences of many working-class Black Americans, her appeals to racial identity as more political than personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when attempting to champion major issues, Harris frequently found herself facing criticism for factual disputes or poorly received public appearances. Whether discussing education, immigration, or foreign policy, critics argue that she often appeared unprepared or disconnected from the concerns of ordinary Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps most damaging is the perception problem. Fairly or unfairly, Harris has spent years battling the impression that she was elevated through political circumstances rather than through demonstrated executive accomplishment. That perception remains a significant obstacle should she decide to seek the presidency once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Incompetence of Gavin Newsom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If Harris faces questions about competence on the national stage, Newsom faces questions about competence closer to home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As governor of California, Newsom has presided over a state blessed with extraordinary advantages. California possesses some of the world’s most valuable real estate, some of America’s most productive industries, and a technology sector that generates enormous wealth. Yet despite those advantages, many of the state’s most visible problems have continued to worsen during his tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps no issue has become more closely associated with Newsom’s governorship than California’s homelessness crisis. Critics point out that since Newsom took office in 2019, California has spent roughly $20 billion on homelessness programs, yet the state’s homeless population has continued to rise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to figures cited in a state audit and commentary surrounding it, California’s homeless population increased approximately 20 percent during Newsom’s tenure and roughly 50 percent over the last decade. The audit further criticized the state’s ability to track spending and measure results, raising questions about whether taxpayers have received meaningful returns on one of the largest homelessness expenditures in state history. To Newsom’s opponents, the numbers tell a troubling story: billions spent, promises repeatedly made, and a crisis that remains visible on the streets of many California cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critics also point to California’s struggles with affordability, high housing costs, regulatory burdens, and business departures. Newsom’s supporters argue that many of these challenges predate his governorship, but opponents counter that voters ultimately judge leaders based on results rather than explanations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newsom also faced intense criticism following California’s devastating wildfire disasters. He spent years promising improvements in forest management, wildfire prevention, and emergency preparedness while millions of Californians remained vulnerable to increasingly destructive fire seasons. The criticism intensified after the Los Angeles fires of 2025, when questions emerged about budget priorities, water availability, emergency planning, and the overall readiness of state and local governments. Years of policy failures left California less prepared than it should have been for disasters that experts had been warning about for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n California’s unemployment system became one of the most expensive administrative failures in state history. The unemployment trust fund was depleted, forcing the state to borrow roughly $21 billion from the federal government to continue paying benefits. Employers are still paying higher payroll taxes to retire that debt. State auditors also found that weak controls allowed more than $30 billion in potentially fraudulent claims to be paid during the pandemic. Together, the borrowing and fraud losses exposed a state government that was unprepared to safeguard taxpayer dollars during a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps Newsom’s biggest political challenge is that he increasingly serves as a symbol of California’s government overreach, bureaucratic dysfunction, and failed public policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The possibility of a Harris-Newsom showdown highlights a broader challenge facing Democrats. If these two figures emerge as the party’s leading options for 2028, voters may ultimately decide whether decades of political ambition can outweigh years of controversy, criticism, and disappointing results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Democratic nomination battle may become one of the most consequential political contests of the decade. It may also become a referendum on whether Democrats believe their future lies with new leadership or with two familiar figures whose records remain intensely debated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Democratic Party may be heading toward one of the most unusual presidential nomination battles in modern political history. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom appear to be on a collision course for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. The two California politicians have spent more than two decades climbing the same political ladder, competing for many of the same donors, advisers, and supporters while carefully avoiding a direct electoral confrontation. That long-running rivalry may finally be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,18,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-democrats","category-elections","category-politics","category-president-biden"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gavinharrissgdhdf.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7387,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386\/revisions\/7387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}