Doug Emhoff Reportedly Not On Board With Another Kamala Presidential Run

Kamala Harris is quietly building toward a third White House bid, and the person who knows her best would rather she stay out of it.

Doug Emhoff has told people in private that he would prefer his wife skip another presidential campaign, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people aware of the discussions. The newspaper reported that friends of Emhoff still expect him to stand behind the former vice president should she enter the race.

The Journal reported that some donors have told Harris flatly that a 2028 victory looks unlikely. Axios found a similar mood among her former staff, reporting that many ex-aides are quietly betting against a run, with one placing the odds at roughly even and describing her as a careful, deliberate decision-maker. Only one person Axios spoke with predicted she would go for it. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Asked Who ‘Most Effective’ Presidents Were. Doesn’t Mention Former Boss)

Exclusive: Kamala Harris’s husband has privately told people he would prefer she doesn’t run for president again, and some donors have told her a bid would be a longshot https://t.co/rdyv8QGrOq

Harris has courted major contributors, added staff and traveled to competitive states to lift Democratic candidates ahead of the November midterms, the Journal reported. Her team now includes chief of staff Candace Bond, communications director Eduardo Negrón and strategist Brian Fallon.

The field she would enter looks nothing like 2024, when the party rallied around her after President Joe Biden exited the race. Gov. Gavin Newsom, long seen as a likely contender, told CNN he would step aside if she runs. “I wouldn’t run if she ran,” Newsom said in the interview.

Harris still tops most early Democratic primary polls, the Journal reported, and she has kept the door open publicly. “I am not done,” she told the BBC, as reported by the Associated Press, while insisting she has not settled on a decision.

Emhoff has returned to private life. He is practicing law again at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the Daily Beast reported. The return follows nearly three decades in the profession. He and Harris bought an $8 million home in Malibu, according to the Journal. She has hosted some business meetings there.