Californias Democratic establishment just received a sobering reminder that Vice President Kamala Harris is anything but a political favorite in her own deep-blue home state.
According to Sean Hannity, a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey finds Harris drawing only 9% support as the first-choice contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination in California, a stunningly weak showing for a sitting vice president. She trails Gov. Gavin Newsom, who leads the hypothetical field at 28%, as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, underscoring the lack of enthusiasm for the partys current national leadership.
Even Newsoms apparent lead comes with serious caveats that should worry Democrats already jockeying for post-Biden power. Polling at 28% in his own state, Newsom is far from dominant, and receiving support from only roughly a quarter of those in the Golden State is worrying, Berkeley IGS Poll director Mark DiCamillo told the Los Angeles Times.
The governors broader standing with Californians is also eroding, suggesting fatigue with progressive governance in a state plagued by crime, homelessness, and high taxes. Just 48% of Californians approve of the job Newsom is doing, down from 51% in August, while his disapproval rating has climbed by five percentage points.
When second-choice preferences are included, the gap between Newsom and Harris grows even more stark, highlighting her weakness as a potential standard-bearer for the left. Newsom reaches 42% combined support, while Harris musters only 20%, a dismal figure for a politician once touted as the future of the Democratic Party.
The survey, conducted March 914 among 5,019 registered voters, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, and neither Newsom nor Harris has formally announced a 2028 bid. Newsom is term-limited and will leave office after the 2026 election, while Harris is on her 107 Days book tour following her loss to President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
That defeat still hangs over her political prospects, especially among voters who expected her to be the progressive heir apparent. Harris has pointed to limited campaign time as a factor in her loss, but this latest polling suggests Democrats even in her own backyard may already be looking elsewhere, and in California, the verdict is early but unmistakable.
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