Kamala Harris Faces Doubts Over 2028 Presidential Bid as Allies Defend Her Record

As former Vice President Kamala Harris considers a potential run for the White House in 2028, a key advisor is pushing back against criticism from within the Democratic Party that she has not sufficiently reinvented herself following her 2024 election defeat.

Veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, an outside advisor to Harris, described the criticism highlighted in a recent Politico report as "infuriating in its silliness." The report, based on interviews with nearly 20 Democratic donors and strategists, indicated growing skepticism among some party insiders about Harris' political future and whether she has done enough to distinguish herself from her unsuccessful 2024 campaign.

Doug Herman, a Democratic strategist who worked on Barack Obama’s past presidential campaigns, told Politico that Harris "totally blew it... She hasn’t gotten into the mix." Former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges also expressed doubt, telling Politico, "I don’t see anything different myself. It seems like more of the same to me."

However, Cardona, who also served in the Bill Clinton administration and worked on presidential campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, defended Harris' policy initiatives and campaign activities. She pointed to Harris' proposals for an expanded Supreme Court, lowering the voting age to 16, and admitting Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico as states as "groundbreaking policies."

Cardona also stated that Harris "is still the most qualified person to be president of the United States that is mentioned as a possible candidate for 2028," adding that "she has been out there nonstop talking to young voters, women voters, black voters, Latino voters." Cardona argued that Harris has focused her energy on supporting fellow Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections, suggesting it would have been detrimental to her political future if she had focused on her own presidential ambitions instead.

Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, replaced Joe Biden as the Democrats' 2024 presidential nominee after he withdrew from the race. Her campaign ultimately ended in defeat against Donald Trump. If she were to run for president a third time, she would likely face a crowded primary field and a party base looking to move past recent electoral setbacks.

One Democratic consultant, speaking anonymously, told Fox News Digital that "voters feel like they haven't heard much from Harris, which means bad memories from her 2024 election loss remain fresh in their minds."

But Michael Ceraso, a longtime Democratic strategist, countered that consultants' opinions do not necessarily reflect the electorate. "Presidential politics hasn’t really even started yet," Ceraso said, adding that "These consultants are just getting soundbites." He also drew a parallel to Joe Biden's path to the presidency, noting that it took him three runs to win the White House, suggesting Harris could follow a similar trajectory.

Since the end of the Biden administration, Harris has been active with a book tour for her memoir "107 Days" and has been campaigning for Democratic candidates in the midterm elections. She has also engaged with various voter groups across the country.