At a summit celebrating Black women leaders in California, former US vice president Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance and hinted at staying active in public life.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she told the audience at the Leading Women Defined gathering, in her first public remarks since the 2024 election, reported The Hill.
California’s political scene is beginning to take shape ahead of the 2026 governor’s race, with early moves from prominent Democrats. Former health secretary Xavier Becerra formally launched his campaign this week, while Kamala Harris, who served as US vice president and previously represented California in the Senate, is expected to decide on her next step by summer.
The report added that Harris has consistently avoided confirming whether she plans to enter the race to succeed governor Gavin Newsom, who is barred from running again due to term limits.
While early polls suggest she would be the Democratic front-runner if she ran, Harris has so far chosen to keep her future plans under wraps, focusing instead on supporting Democratic priorities in California.
In an address lasting nearly eight minutes, Kamala Harris did not name Donald Trump, but spoke about the “fear” felt in “these last few months in our country.”
“There were many things that we knew would happen, many things,” US Vice President Kamala Harris said, alluding to her presidential campaign. Smiling as the crowd cheered, she added, “I’m not here to say, ‘I told you so.’ I swore I wasn’t going to say that.”
Kamala Harris, 60, lost the 2024 US presidential election to Donald Trump, who secured more than 270 electoral college votes to reclaim the presidency.
Harris had been Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020 when he defeated Trump, becoming the first Black vice president and the first woman to hold the role.
Unique circumstances led to her 2024 candidacy, Biden stepped aside in July and endorsed Harris, giving her an unexpected opportunity to run for the White House.
