Here are the top reasons why Kamala Harris should not run for governor of California | Opinion

Surely, Kamala Harris is smart enough to decide against running for governor of California.

If you haven’t heard, the former vice president is supposedly spending her days contemplating her next, and plausibly final, political gambit. The political options are to pursuing her party’s 2028 presidential nomination or to the California Governor’s office in 2026.

The third option, to find lucrative work on boards and be a law firm’s rainmaker, might be the prudent path for someone young enough to make this move.

The analysis of Harris as a presidential candidate is an entirely separate essay, although she would face several hurdles to becoming the nominee and winning the White House.

In comparison, the path to the Governor’s mansion is relatively hurdle-free. But that doesn’t make it the right path.

Assuming for the moment that Harris can have the job, why would she want it? Imagine a piece of white paper with the pros written in ink on one side of the page and the cons on the other. The ink against this idea is going to dominate.

Here’s what she must be realizing.

The budget: The next governor likely inherits a difficult budget situation. In California, we like to blame our deficits on volatile tax revenue that is challenging to forecast, but the reality is in just the past six years under Gov. Gavin Newsom, spending has increased 63%, or $127 billion. The population has remained static. Newsom’s spending spree is unsustainable even without tax revenue dips.

Climate policy: For a couple of decades, California politicians have congratulated each other for saving the planet with ambitious climate policies. The problem is, during all those photo ops and press conferences, they never told the public about how much it would cost them in higher gas prices, utility rates and housing costs. It turns out the public is getting increasingly peeved, and the costs are going to keep dramatically rising. Even worse, the policies don’t appear to have a material impact on carbon reduction. Recalibrating climate goals to more realistic benchmarks seems inevitable. Newsom is kicking this can down the road. The next governor can’t.

Homelessness: Is the problem solvable? The answer of course is yes, but the force of political effort required would substantially consume a governor. Newsom’s second-term conversion to practical policies like his mental health Care Courts haven’t had time to move the needle. To truly reverse the crisis would require the fortitude to take on mental health commitment laws and be willing to enforce drug laws, including incarcerating those who refuse rehabilitation. Compulsory care and treatment would be ugly and it will be expensive to offer the services required to succeed. This is all far outside of how Democrats have approached the problem, which hasn’t solved the crisis.

Disasters: No governor gets out of office without disasters, but the risk posed by fire is more acute than ever. Newsom’s singular focus on managing the multitude of issues after the January fires is a reminder these disasters can completely derail a governor’s agenda. And, as we see in the insurance markets, these natural disasters can create their own political disasters. And I’m not going to jinx it by saying we’re due for a big earthquake, but…..

The inevitable conclusion: To make it worse for Harris, all the challenges described above are even more daunting for a Democrat. The party’s constituencies like government spending and want more. Environmentalists are a Democrat subsidiary. And Progressives will lose their minds about enforcing laws against homeless populations…even if it’s for their own good.

Is it worth it for Harris to be California governor and risk burnishing your legacy? No, thank you.

Even if Harris does pursue the job, she also shouldn’t assume there won’t be election hurdles. California voters are in an agitated mood. The status quo is bringing them higher bills and unsafe and unkempt communities. Yes, it’s a blue state but last year’s ballot measure results suggest it’s not a very liberal state right now. Voters will want to see some big ideas, and they’ll smell the stench of entitlement from any politician whose rationale for their candidacy is “I need a career capper.” An outsider Democrat could give her turbulence in a general election.

If Harris decides she wants to run for governor of California, she needs to palpably want the job and have a real plan to govern.

This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Here are the top reasons why Kamala Harris should not run for governor of California | Opinion."