Kamala Harris To Kick Off Tour with Speech at Al Sharpton’s Conference, Signaling 2028 Run

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to kick off a tour this week with a speech at Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference, before heading on to the southern United States where she will attend a number of state Democratic party functions. It is the clearest sign yet that she plans to run for the White House again in 2028. Ms. Harris is still considered to be a strong candidate for the nomination two years from now, even though she lost the 2024 race to President Trump. Reverend Sharpton’s conference won’t just be a destination for Ms. Harris, however. A number of other potential candidates for the White House are planning on attending. Governors Wes Moore of Maryland, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, along with Congressman Ro Khanna and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, will also travel to New York for the event. Speaking at the annual National Action Network conference is one of the greatest indicators that a Democrat is planning on seeking the party’s nomination for president. In 2018, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Cory Booker, along with Ms. Harris, who was then a senator, all spoke at the conference. Every one of them would go on to launch a presidential bid the following year. After she addresses Mr. Sharpton’s conference this week, she is then swinging through the south. For the time being, South Carolina is still set to host the first primary of the 2028 campaign. Ms. Harris just so happens to be visiting the state as part of her tour. “I have been traveling our country, and in particular, I have been spending a lot of time in the South. At every stop, I have heard firsthand from people about how they are struggling with the chaos and cruelty of this current administration,” Ms. Harris wrote in an email to supporters last month, announcing her tour. She says the tour is meant to help support Democrats ahead of the November elections. “The midterm elections are one of the only ways that we can put a check on this administration in the immediate future. That is why I am so focused on investing in candidates and causes now so we can overwhelmingly elect leaders this November who will fight for us,” Ms. Harris wrote. She plans to attend fundraisers in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, before addressing Arkansas Democrats’ annual Fisher Shackelford Dinner at the end of the month. “We are so honored for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I could not be more grateful that Vice President Harris chose Arkansas for her first keynote speech following the 2024 election,” the state party’s vice chairwoman, Jannie Cotton, said in a statement announcing Ms. Harris’ appearance. The former vice president has not been shy about her interest in running for president again in the future. During an interview with podcaster Sharon McMahon last year, Ms. Harris was asked if she would run in 2028. “I might,” she said simply. If she does run, it is clear that Ms. Harris will not clear the field or be anointed like she was in 2024. She has had some public spats with other possible Democratic candidates during her book tour last year. She wrote about Governor Gavin Newsom telling her he was too busy to talk on the phone the day President Biden dropped out of the race and about how Mr. Shapiro’s interview to be her own running mate in 2024 went poorly. According to poll averages, Ms. Harris is still the frontrunner for the nomination. According to Race to the WH — which aggregates national polls — Ms. Harris is taking 24 percent of the national primary vote, compared to Mr. Newsom’s 19 percent. Mr. Buttigieg comes in third place with just under 11 percent, followed by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Shapiro, and Senator Mark Kelly, all of whom poll in the single digits.

Kamala Harris To Kick Off Tour with Speech at Al Sharpton’s Conference, Signaling 2028 Run

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