California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris have much in common, fellow Bay Area Democrats who insist they’re friends but don’t always act like it.
They drew broad notice in the 2003 San Francisco election, leading an up-and-coming generation of California politicians—Newsom as mayor and Harris as district attorney—by turns bumping elbows over command of the microphone at news conferences.
Newsom, 58 years old, and Harris, 61, have shared mentors, staffers, donors, friends and consultants for more than two decades, going neck and neck in the parochial world of Bay Area politics.
They have exchanged endorsements and snubs, each wary of the other, according to people close to both.
“They’ve been kind of like two cats, circling each other in an alley for years, politically speaking,” said Democratic strategist Garry South, who worked for Newsom.
Newsom, who is wrapping up his second term as California governor, is widely expected to mount a 2028 presidential bid.
People close to Harris say she is undecided, still stung by her 2024 loss to President Trump.
In April, Harris got a warm reception in New York from Black activists who chanted Run again! Run again! “I might,” she said. “I’m thinking about it.”
Most early Democratic primary polls show them holding top slots in the field of potential presidential candidates, in what would be their first head-to-head contest.
