Former Vice President Kamala Harris dropped a bombshell Wednesday on the Democratic Party, announcing she will not run for governor of California and hinting that her days campaigning for public office may be over.

In a statement, the 2024 Democratic nominee for president said that after reflecting on the 2026 gubernatorial race in California, which showed her leading in early polls by double digits, she decided not to run.

Ms. Harris, 60, did not rule out running for president again. But her tepid statement seems to throw cold water on a future in elected politics.

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

It wasn’t clear in the statement what, specifically, she’ll do next.

“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,” Ms. Harris said.

The announcement leaves wide open not only California’s 2026 governor’s race, but quite possibly the 2028 presidential field of Democratic candidates.

While some believe Ms. Harris’ absence from the governor’s race clears the way for another presidential campaign in three years, it could also make it less likely.

Ms. Harris’ retreat from public office will keep her out of the governing spotlight and preclude her from launching a presidential campaign from a leadership post that the California governor’s office would have provided.

Her announcement follows reports that Democrats have soured on the idea of another Harris presidential campaign, given her poor performance in 2024. After party leaders convinced President Biden to drop out of the race, Ms. Harris lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College, including all seven swing states, to President Trump despite amassing a huge campaign war chest.

But some polls show her performing well in 2028 hypothetical matchups.

A July poll by Overton Insights found her leading Vice President J.D. Vance, 45% to 42% among registered voters.

Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that, according to those close to Ms. Harris, she’s essentially tired of elected office after decades of public service and is busy writing a book and setting up other ventures, including a nonprofit.

Ms. Harris has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since losing the race in November.

She provided a brief, pre-recorded message at a D.C. summit of Gen Z Democratic activists last week. She told the activists to “keep building your political power, keep building community, keep building coalitions, keep challenging the status quo.”

Ms. Harris had held public office since 2003, when she served as San Francisco’s district attorney. She was elected California’s attorney general in 2010, and won a U.S. Senate seat in 2016. Her brief bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination flamed out before voters cast any ballots, but Joe Biden tapped her as his running mate on the eventual winning ticket.

Ms. Harris stood a real chance of reviving her political career in deep blue California.

She was the runaway front-runner among candidates seeking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who cannot run for a third term.

She held a 15-point lead over all other likely candidates in a July 2 poll released by the University of California, Irvine School of Social Ecology.

But the poll showed potential warning signs for Ms. Harris. While she scooped up 24% of the vote, another 40% were undecided.

Even among Democrats, 25% were unsure who they would vote for if Ms. Harris was among the candidates running to replace Mr. Newsom.

Mr. Newsom is now considered among the leading contenders in the 2028 Democratic presidential field, although he has not announced his plans.

Many other Democrats are believed to be considering presidential campaigns, among them former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Ms. Harris’ former running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Mr. Newsom visited with voters earlier this summer in South Carolina, which is poised to be an early voting state in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.