FORMER Vice President Kamala Harris would be the Democratic Party’s frontrunner to be the next Governor of California if she throws her name into the ring, a new poll has suggested

Current governor Gavin Newsom, 57, is term-limited, meaning he cannot run again, having been in office since January 2019.

Harris has been tight-lipped about her future plans following her crushing election defeat to Donald Trump in November.

But an Emerson College poll suggests she would pick up 57% of Democratic primary voters in the Golden State if she launched a bid for the Governor’s Mansion.

Harris has 60% support among women voters and 61% among Hispanics.

She has 64% support among black Democratic voters.

“If Vice President Harris enters the Democratic Primary, she would start as the clear favorite,” Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.

Only 9% of Democratic primary voters would back former congressman Katie Porter, who launched an unsuccessful bid to be the Democratic Party’s Senate nominee in California.

But, if Harris doesn’t throw her name into the hat to succeed Newsom, then all bets are off.

“Without Harris in the race, the primary is wide open,” Kimball said.

Around 45% of primary voters wouldn’t know who to back.

Harris has, so far, been coy about what she does next following her four years as vice president.

“My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what I can do to support them,” she said in January as she visited areas of Los Angeles ravaged by the wildfires.

But senior California officials have welcomed the idea of Harris running to be the next governor.

“Kamala Harris would be a great governor,” Rob Bonta, the state’s attorney general, told Politico.

“I would support her if she ran. She would be field-clearing.”

On January 20, Harris invited her fans to stay connected by sharing the URL of her website.

And, political content has been absent from her Instagram feed recently.

She shared a touching picture of herself with her husband Doug Emhoff taken at the FireAid concert.

Harris has until March 2026 to decide on a potential run.

2028 RUN?

Experts suspect she would announce any bid in the spring of 2026, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

“People will be more annoyed if she drops in in June,” they said.

Harris would have to weigh up whether she runs for the Governor’s Mansion or the Democratic 2028 presidential nominee.

Following November’s loss, she reportedly told her allies to keep her political options open, as per Politico.

And during her concession speech, she spoke about how she’s staying in the fight.

Polls taken on the 2028 Democratic primary race show Harris with an advantage, per Five Thirty Eight.

One survey from JL Partners showed Harris was polling at 30% among voters.

Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary, and Newsom are on 8%.

Firebrand congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on 5% as is Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro.

The U.S. Sun has approached Kamala Harris for comment.