Kamala Harris’ former vice president closed the big door when he announced Wednesday that he would not run for California governor. But she left the other people’s mountains open.
The departing president, vice president, first woman, and failed presidential candidates have pursued a wide variety of paths in the past. Although given the recognition and influence of names, they have the freedom to choose their next adventure, as they do not play an official role.
Algore had the cause of global warming, and George W. Bush took the painting. John Kelly and Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State, while Donald Trump fought with prosecutors, launched a new business venture and plotted his return to power. Barack and Michelle Obama grew their foundation, wrote books and founded a production company.
Of course, Harris was able to focus all her energy on another run for the president in 2028. But how does she do it, and what will she do to stay politically relevant in the meantime? What other pass would she choose instead?
“She’s just finished writing the book. She has finally decided she’s not running for governor, but it’s too early to be normative about what role she will play next and what she will look like.”
Power and political leadership experts expect Harris’ next move to be something in the public eye.
“Even if you’re not a California governor, the idea that something other than the 2024 election would be something that Kamala Harris has hoped for the last thing he’s done so far is very appealing,” said Gregory H. Winger, assistant professor of public affairs and international affairs at the University of Cincinnati who studied the “lifetime impacts” of the former president.
Winger said his research showed that people in the White House “most aggressive in their influence” were those who ended up with sour notes such as failing to win reelection.
“It’s kind of annoyed ambition, and that leads to higher activity,” Winger said — and Harris has it.
With the announcement that he would not run for governor, Harris was careful to leave his options open. I framed hopes for the future, surrounding ideals such as “fighting for the Americans.”
She said she was a “respectful civil servant” and for a long time she believed that the best way to make a difference was to “improve the system from within.” But she also said, “Our politics, our government, and our institutions have failed the American people too often,” and “We are willing to pursue change through new methods and fresh thinking — we are committed to the same values and principles, but not bound by the same playbook.”
Harris said he looks forward to talking to more Americans while helping out other Democrats.
Within 24 hours, she announced the agreement for her upcoming memoir, “107 Days.” It chronicles the whirlwind 2024 presidential campaign and announced its first interview since the election on Thursday night, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Natana Elfast, director of Neely’s Ethical Leadership and Decision Making Center at USC Marshall Business School, said Harris’s talk of “back out listening” wanted to regain her prominent national role. It could mean another president’s run, he said, but it could also mean something else, especially in the short term, when she works to replicate her perception.
“If she could create a compelling story about who she is, what she did, what happened in the final election, and where she headed next.” “She’s likely to succeed.”
Fast said his bet was that she would run for president, but he could see her going on the Gore route. After losing the presidential election, he decided to move in a different direction to make a global impact by dealing with climate change.
“I can imagine someone like Harris taking on artificial intelligence and saying, ‘Everything about my efforts to influence the national conversation about what happens with AI,” Fast said.
Artificial intelligence is part of her portfolio as a vice president, a topic that Harris is deeply concerned about, said a source familiar with her thinking that called for anonymity to speak openly about her next steps.
Harris will also have to take a cautious step while working to reaffirm her influence in the Democrats.
Democrats struggle to unify different elements of their party and settle for a kitchen table message appealing to voters about the daily challenges they face, said Sarah Sadwani, a political professor at Pomona College.
After she was defeated by Trump, the convicted felon who targeted several other criminal investigations “exemplifies Harris’ inability to screw that needle in.”
Whatever Harris does, it’s not easy in today’s saturated media and political markets. This is very different to what other former White House residents faced.
After he refused to run for reelection in 1928, former President Coolidge wrote a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Today, Harris is likely to release a podcast, but it’s no one’s guess whether it will catch nationally.
Winger said Harris has a massive name recognition, and Fast said he has many of the key forms of “capital” that allow leaders to remain successful and influenced, including financial and social.
Still, “it’s difficult,” Winger said. “It’s a very different media ecosystem just because of how crowded it is and how fractured it.”
Kyle Lehman, who worked at the Obama White House for over six years, is now the CEO of Civic Nation, a nonpartisan nonprofit that houses several education, gender equity and voter initiatives.
Lehman said he was excited to see what Harris will do next.
“When you’re in the White House, you’re working on dozens of different topics every day and trying to make the most of the impact possible before the clock runs out,” Lehman said. “And when you leave, you have the opportunity to take a step back, think about the long term and go deeper, and go deeper, when you leave, and when you leave, and I think it’s freed up in some respects.”
Sen. Lafonza Butler, a longtime friend of Harris, said the former vice president might be drawn from a blueprint laid out by his recent predecessor.
“Whether you’re talking about the Clinton Global Initiative or when we all vote… I think there are a lot of examples of the work that’s going on with the Obama Foundation,” Butler said.
Many former presidents continue to be upset in international relations, taking advantage of their existing relationships with diplomacy and foreign leaders, especially when members of their party return to power. For example, President Clinton used President Carter in that way.
Andorra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University, said Harris was “really effective” in working for racial justice and strengthening organizations that elect women, but before the 2024 election, he said “it wasn’t something she had organized a political career.”
Gillespie said she read Harris’ statement as indicating that she is most interested in finding ways to force change outside of government. She said she was already in California and could see Harris, whose husband Doug Emov, an entertainment lawyer.
Gillespie said we can see Harris work closely with Howard University, its alma mater in Washington, DC, to fund or build a new research center, just like Joe Biden did at the University of Delaware.
“She’s still relatively young, but she was able to get 15-20 years of active involvement before her,” Gillespie said.
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