Harris Steps Into Midterms Where She's Welcome

As Kamala Harris considers whether to run for president again, she's throwing herself into the midterms by campaigning with fellow Democrats, starting with a Tuesday trip to Michigan on behalf of Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. It's an especially notable destination for the former vice president. Michigan was one of seven battlegrounds she lost to Donald Trump two years ago, and it's now one of six states that will start Democrats' next presidential nominating process. Harris has rallies scheduled in Nevada and Georgia, the AP reports; her campaigning could serve to solidify or undermine her status as a potential Democratic front-runner.

Although Harris is one of the nation's best-known politicians and a barrier-breaking figure, there are others eager to turn the page after she failed to defeat Trump when she replaced Joe Biden on the top of the ticket. "I think she's run her course," said Barry Goodman, a Democratic National Committee member from Michigan who raised money for Biden and then Harris. "I just don't think her running again would be the right thing for America moving forward." Some Democratic candidates, especially in places Trump won handily, have curtly dismissed any possibility of campaigning with Harris. "No thanks," Iowa gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand told Politico. "Let's move on. We need some new leadership."

But plenty of Democrats said she has earned the space to consider her options without being rushed or pilloried. Underscoring her unique position, California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently told CNN that he would not seek the nomination if Harris does. "Kamala isn't under any deadline to run for anything," said Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chair who managed Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000. She called it a "waste of time" to relitigate Harris's truncated 2024 campaign and said any White House hopefuls "should follow Kamala's lead and get out there" by trying to help midterm candidates.