Two years after losing face due to Donald Trump’s governance, Vice President Kamala Harris assumes her new role with all the signs of a wounded animal. She attempts to control her self-inflicted injuries in her position as the leader of the Senate. On Monday, she will stand before the desk of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to preside over the counting of representatives’ votes, ensuring the victory of her long-time rival after two weeks of his formal declaration.
A painful situation for Harris, who once viewed herself as a beacon of democratic hope in American politics. Her supporters believed that she would navigate the muddy waters of US politics and navigate the ship where the American Constitution placed it. This isn’t the first time that an election loser has had to oversee the counting of representatives’ votes in the nation’s laws, Al Gore did so in 2001, and Richard Nixon began in 1961.
Currently, Harris and her team are in talks about the next steps to mitigate her political blunders, exploring various options, including running again in 2028, or perhaps running for governor in her home state of California. The past election losers, Al Gore, John Kerry, and even Hillary Clinton, have all considered running for the presidency again.
Despite this, Harris’s advisers and close friends, who bear the burden of her election campaign, are skeptical that the little public support she received in the election could give her a foothold to run again. They gave the example of Donald Trump – an old and new future president who won the 2016 and 2024 elections, despite his 2020 defeat.
Harris herself has shown no firm commitment to implementing an action, telling her advisers and supporters that she will critically review all the recommendations given to her after the inauguration of the new government on January 20th. On the other hand, Biden’s allies say Harris was a failed investment in the regions Biden won in 2020, reflecting the declining popularity of young black and Latino people. Everyone knows this, says a former Biden adviser.
While the advisor wished to remain anonymous, due to the sensitivity of the political discourse, he praised Harris for her integration within the Democratic party and for helping several House representatives. However, he attributed Trump’s successful campaign to overcome her on crucial issues related to the economy and transportation. Trump’s campaign team agrees that Harris was more detrimental than Biden on many critical issues, such as the economy for voters.
There’s no doubt the Democratic Party’s exit poll in 2028 will become a dire dispute, especially as the party has rising stars such as Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, and California Governor, Gavin Newsom, all of whom are eyeing the candidacy. This is perhaps why some believe Harris should step out of the limelight to focus on running her household or founding a political institute at her alma mater, Howard University.
The jaded racehorse could potentially become the Secretary of the United States Treasury, or a senior legal officer in the future Democratic government. And she has a choice if she wants to write a book. With all these options, Harris has told her followers that she needs to stay active in politics as party leader.
During the waning days of the Biden-Harris administration, she plans to hit the global lecture circuit, visiting several regions, according to a close source who is familiar with the blueprints, which shows her ambition to continue marching on the global stage. Harris and her team, have been on tenterhooks in recent months amid defeat and disappointment.
After the election, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, spent a month on vacation in Hawaii to relax and discuss their future political steps. Her advisors and friends have said she will continue to review what has happened and wait to see the upcoming governments’ orientation in the next few months before deciding on her next move. She will remain one of the main targets of the Trump Administration.
Although she had no substantial influence post-election, Harris showed commitment at a student conference at the University of Prince George in Maryland last December. As a former governor of California – a booming economy, it could throw her into a fracas, with Trump, who criticized her governance of finance.
The burden of ruling a big state like California is no small job, yet it would serve as a stepping stone for her ambition to run again, as she would be declared as the governor of the state, at the right time for a possible presidential run. Conversations with Harris indicate that she has not yet made a final decision about the governor’s race, which some of her friends have presented as a potential opportunity.
She held the position of major lawyer in California for three terms and then became a senator. Yet, a successful tenure as governor could place her in a history-making situation as the first woman and person of color to be both a senator and governor in America.