Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, signaled he would consider jumping into California’s gubernatorial race if former Vice President Kamala Harris decided to run. 

California’s race is more than a year away, but Harris is reportedly taking time this summer to determine whether she wants to make a bid to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who is term-limited. 

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“I want to see if Kamala runs,” Grenell told Politico. “If Kamala runs, I think there’s a whole bunch of Republicans who are going to have to take a look at it, not just me. … If she runs, it is going to make me have to take a look at it. Right now, I’m not running for governor.”

Before becoming the Trump-appointed president of the Kennedy Center, Grenell served a brief stint as Trump’s director of national intelligence in his first term, making Grenell the first openly gay man to serve at the Cabinet level in history. He also teased making a bid in 2021 in California’s recall election but decided against it. 

Amid the Los Angeles riots, Grenell has been sparring with Newsom, accusing Newsom’s wife of shopping during the chaos unfolding in downtown Los Angeles. Newsom said the story was an “outright lie” and that the photos were from months ago.

Harris’s decision to run or not will likely shake up which Democratic candidates decide to continue their bid for the governor’s race. April polling in a hypothetical matchup showed Harris leading with 31% of the vote and her closest competitor, former Rep. Katie Porter, capturing the support of just 8% of voters. 

Porter said if Harris decides to enter the race, it will have “a near field clearing effect.” Members of her campaign team previously said Porter would step aside if Harris decides to run for California governor. 

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Meanwhile, on the Republican side, names such as former Fox News host Steve Hilton have already announced their runs for candidacy. 

Hilton has been incredibly outspoken against Newsom and other Democratic leadership’s handling of the riots, blaming “sanctuary city” policies for leading to the riots in Los Angeles.