Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday she has not made up her mind about another presidential campaign in 2028, telling an audience in Detroit that this year’s midterm elections need to be the priority right now.
Asked directly during a fireside chat whether a 2028 run was “on your plate,” Harris was blunt.
“I have not decided if I’m going to run again,” Harris said, before adding, “I do, I do sincerely believe 28 won’t matter if we don’t get through 26.”
Harris said her focus is on traveling the country and encouraging voters to recognize the weight of their own voices before the 2026 elections. “And I’m a big believer that you can be. When you focus on the thing out there, you trip on the thing over here,” she said.
The exchange happened at Harris’ second Detroit event of the day, a fireside chat moderated by Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP and pastor of Fellowship Chapel, and Rev. Dr. Genetta Y. Hatcher, pastor of The Room Church. Before Anthony raised the 2028 question, he urged the crowd to vote and pointed attendees toward early and mail-in voting options. Harris was later presented with “take your souls to the polls” merchandise.
Earlier in the day, Harris campaigned with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed at a roundtable on Black maternal health and healthcare costs, using the appearance to criticize President Donald Trump’s healthcare policies and to back El-Sayed’s candidacy.
Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024 after then-President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid, then lost the general election to Trump. Her comments Tuesday leave the door open to another run in 2028 without committing to one.
