Harris Will Not Run for California Governor

Former Vice President Kamala Harris will not run for California governor next year, she announced Wednesday, forgoing another campaign after losing last year’s presidential election.

“For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office,” Ms. Harris said in a statement.

“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans,” she added.

Ms. Harris, a former U.S. senator and attorney general of California, had been exploring a run for the state’s top office since she returned home to Los Angeles in January. But she had done little to express enthusiasm for the job this year.

She skipped large political events in the state, and never reached out to the leaders of major labor unions, which deliver valuable endorsements. In intimate gatherings at private homes in San Francisco last month, Ms. Harris told friends and donors that she was weighing her options for the future — perhaps a run for governor — but not conveying a burning desire to jump into the race.

Ms. Harris’s decision comes after a long period of speculation about her political future following her loss to President Trump last year. It leaves open the possibility that she could still run for president in 2028, though she has not indicated she intends to do so.

If Ms. Harris does run in 2028, she would face a competitive Democratic field, starting with a potential rival whom she has known well for decades, the state’s current governor, Gavin Newsom. He has elevated his national profile this year, including by launching a podcast and visiting South Carolina, a key primary state.

Mr. Newsom is finishing his second term and by law cannot run for a third, which opened the door for Ms. Harris and other possible candidates to run to succeed him.

As Ms. Harris approached the end-of-summer deadline she gave herself to decide whether she would run, she attended glitzy events far from California. She was in England last week for the wedding of the Apple heiress Eve Jobs, whose mother, Laurene Powell Jobs, is a close friend. In May, she attended the Met Gala in New York and spoke at a real estate conference in Australia.