A political rivalry is heating up between former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom, both of whom are preparing for potential presidential campaigns in 2028.

As two of the most prominent Democrats from California, Harris and Newsom have exchanged a series of pointed remarks since Harris’s defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

In her memoir “107 Days,” which details her brief presidential campaign, Harris recounted an incident where Newsom failed to return her call after Joe Biden exited the race. Instead, he responded with a text message saying, “Hiking. Will call back.”

Although Newsom eventually endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee, the episode clearly left a mark on Harris, prompting her to include it in her book.

He ultimately went on to endorse her as the Democrat nominee, but the decision to not return the phone call was evidently memorable enough for Harris to include in the book.

Newsom revealed in October he privately challenged Harris over that decision. 

But when he contacted her to challenge the inclusion of his ‘hiking’ anecdote, she pointedly responded: ‘On book tour. Get back to you later.’

‘Anyway, that’s the relationship,’ Newsom added.

And since then, as Newsom gears up for a race to the top job, it has emerged that some of Harris’ closest former advisors are now working with the California Governor.

A simmering feud has emerged between former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom as they each gear up for a 2028 presidential bid

Harris famously revealed in her memoir ‘107 Days’ chronicling her short campaign for president that Newsom didn’t return her call after Joe Biden dropped out of the race

According to The New York Times, Harris’ former chief of staff and chief consulting firm both now work for Newsom.

Additionally, he worked closely with her former campaign manager on his recent efforts to redistrict the ballot.

Newsom is also working on boosting his national profile, largely through a campaign of trolling Trump on social media.

He and his office have adopted Trump’s signature style online, writing pointed and targeted messages aimed at his political enemies and criticizing the administration’s choices.

Harris was asked during a recent interview with the publication whether she would support a potential future ‘President Newsom.’

‘He has to make that decision if he wants to first,’ she said.

‘I think Gavin is very talented. I really do. And I think we have many talented people.’ 

Back in October, Newsom indicated during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning that he was considering running.

Newsom is also working on boosting his national profile, largely through a campaign of trolling Trump on social media

He said he would ‘be lying’ if he said it wasn’t on his mind. 

‘I think the biggest challenge for anyone who runs for any office is that people see right through you if you don’t have that ‘why,’ Newsom said at the time.

Harris and Newsom were sworn in to politics on the same day two decades ago and were both mentored by Willie Brown.

Up until recently, they have always put on a united front.

But Newsom also did not speak at Harris’ convention when she was running against Trump – a decision which at the time was put down to logistics.

In the months since her loss, he has been outspoken about the pitfalls of his own party, without directly singling out Harris.

‘We got our asses kicked and it wasn’t just Kamala — she had, there was difficult circumstances for anybody,’ he said in October.

‘Democrats haven’t been talking to young men, and we’ve lost them… the other side weaponized that.’

Polls showed that Newsom is leading Harris as a potential Democratic candidate in 2028 by up to 16 points – though one poll found that California voters worried he was spending too much time increasing his national profile and not on state issues.