Kamala Harris takes next step in return to political stage

Former Vice President Kamala Harris headlines a top-dollar Democratic National Committee fundraising meal connected Tuesday, marking the latest measurement backmost into the governmental spotlight by the Democrats' 2024 statesmanlike nominee.

The New York City gathering of apical enactment officials, politicians and donors, wherever tickets scope upwards of $25,000 per person, according to an invitation obtained by Fox News, comes arsenic Harris is mulling her governmental aboriginal aft past November's predetermination decision astatine the hands of Republican President Donald Trump.

Among her run options that she's weighing is simply a 2026 tally for the unfastened governor's spot successful her location authorities of California and different bid successful 2028 for the White House.

The lawsuit besides comes arsenic the Democratic Party, facing historically debased favorable ratings successful nationalist polling, aims to permission the governmental wilderness aft the enactment mislaid power of the White House and the Senate and fell abbreviated successful its bid to regain the House bulk successful the 2024 elections.

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris is headlining a large Democratic National Committee fundraiser successful New York City connected Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

And it is being held arsenic an progressively aggravated and energized basal of Democrats is pushing for enactment leaders to instrumentality a stronger basal successful pushing backmost against Trump's sweeping and arguable docket during the opening months of his 2nd administration.

"Kamala Harris understands the combat that we are in," DNC committee subordinate and seasoned Democratic strategist Maria Cardona told Fox News.

She added that "Kamala Harris is simply a beloved fig successful the Democratic Party."

"The DNC is utilizing each instrumentality successful their toolbox to bring radical together, to get radical excited astir the campaigns that are coming successful the adjacent 2 cycles," said Cardona, a subordinate of the DNC's influential Rules and Bylaws committee. "I deliberation it's ace astute for the DNC to usage her, to usage each different elected [official], to usage governors, to usage erstwhile medication officials. … I deliberation this is conscionable par for the people for what the DNC needs to bash going forward."

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The fundraiser is being held the time aft the president helped haul successful large bucks arsenic helium headlined a gathering of large donors astatine 1 of his play courses successful Virginia for MAGA Inc., which was the apical Trump-aligned ace PAC during the 2024 predetermination cycle.

Harris proved her fundraising prowess past year, hauling successful implicit $1 cardinal during her three-and-a-half-month White House run aft replacing then-President Joe Biden atop the Democrats' nationalist summons successful precocious July, amid mounting questions implicit the then-81-year-old president's carnal and intelligence stamina. 

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

"She raised an eye-popping grounds magnitude of money," Cardona noted. "She is inactive a tremendous gully for the Democratic faithful and donors and that volition proceed to beryllium the lawsuit going forward."

The DNC is utilizing overmuch of the wealth brought successful astatine its fundraisers to physique its crushed operations and messaging efforts up of adjacent year's midterm elections.

A apical progressive person agreed that utilizing Harris to assistance fundraise for the DNC makes sense. 

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But Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a large grassroots enactment that promotes economical populism and ideology done electoral and contented advocacy efforts, pointed to Harris' 2024 setback arsenic good arsenic her flameout successful the 2020 Democrat statesmanlike superior erstwhile asked astir however the near would person a imaginable 2028 White House bid by Harris.

"She had her chance. Sometimes you person to cognize erstwhile to measurement away," Green told Fox News.

He argued that Harris felt much similar a campaigner from the party's constitution than a shake-up of the system, populist, during her 2 statesmanlike campaigns, and that the much voters got to cognize her, the little they supported her.

Harris' quality astatine Tuesday's DNC fundraiser, wherever she'll instrumentality portion successful a question-and-answer league with nationalist enactment seat Ken Martin, comes a week aft she made immoderate of her archetypal large nationalist remarks since her 2024 defeat.

The erstwhile vice president astatine an lawsuit successful San Francisco took purpose astatine Trump's economical agenda. She said the president's arguable implementation of tariffs, which initially triggered a monolithic banal marketplace selloff, "as I predicted, are intelligibly inviting a recession."

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The stepped-up appearances by Harris travel arsenic she continues to conscionable with advisors and friends arsenic she considers her governmental future.

A root successful the erstwhile vice president's governmental orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital 2 months agone that Harris had told allies she would determine by the extremity of summertime connected whether to motorboat a 2026 gubernatorial campaign.

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Harris served arsenic San Francisco territory attorney, California lawyer wide and represented the Golden State successful the U.S. Senate earlier joining Biden's 2020 summons and winning predetermination arsenic vice president.

And Harris would beryllium considered the wide frontrunner for politician successful heavy bluish California successful the contention to win term-limited Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks astatine the Leading Women Defined Summit, April 3, 2025, successful Dana Point, Calif. (Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, highly aboriginal polls successful the adjacent Democratic Party statesmanlike information race, which are heavy reliant connected sanction designation astatine this point, bespeak that the erstwhile vice president holds a important pb implicit different imaginable White House contenders.

It is improbable she could bash both. Running and winning predetermination successful 2026 arsenic politician of California, the nation's astir populous authorities and location to the world's fifth-largest economy, would apt instrumentality a 2028 White House tally disconnected the table, allies and governmental analysts person indicated.

While nary decisions person been made, the erstwhile vice president has vowed to stay politically involved.

Harris, successful a video connection to the Democratic National Committee arsenic it huddled for its wintertime gathering successful aboriginal February, pledged to beryllium with the enactment "every measurement of the way."

And successful an aboriginal April code successful California, Harris reiterated that she'll enactment politically active, noting that "I’m not going anywhere."

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But Harris is acold from the lone Democrat sparking 2028 speculation.

Among those making headlines successful the highly aboriginal moves for the adjacent Democrat statesmanlike information contention is two-term Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, who took purpose astatine Trump and his ain enactment arsenic helium headlined a authorities Democratic Party fundraiser a week and a fractional agone successful New Hampshire, which traditionally has held the archetypal superior successful the White House race.

Also grabbing plentifulness of 2028 buzz is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the four-term, outspoken progressive from New York City.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks astatine a municipality hallway gathering connected May 2, 2025, successful New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

A viral video of her nationwide bid of rallies with longtime wide champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, an autarkic from Vermont, drew ample crowds and sparked much speculation that the lawmaker known arsenic AOC mightiness person statesmanlike ambitions successful 2028 oregon that she could perchance superior situation longtime Democrat Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York successful 3 years.

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Green, successful contrasting Harris and Ocasio-Cortez, said "this infinitesimal calls for authentic outsiders who privation to shingle up the breached governmental strategy and an economic status quo rigged for billionaires against moving people. That's wherefore Kamala Harris lost, and it's wherefore a batch of radical are looking astatine AOC."