LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Richard Grenell, a Trump administration official, said Friday that he would consider entering the 2026 California governor race if former Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris joins the growing list of candidates.
“If Kamala Harris runs for governor, I believe that she has such baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars in educating the voters of how terrible she is, that it’s a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot,” Grenell said, according to Politico. “And I wouldn’t say no.”
Grenell, a longtime Trump loyalist who serves as the special presidential envoy for special missions, joined the President in Los Angeles to survey the wildfire damage, traveled to Venezuela for a meeting with President Nicolás Maduro that led to the release of six hostages and was named the Kennedy Center’s interim executive director after Trump was elected to be the center’s new chair, according to the publication.
He previously served as ambassador to Germany and as Acting Director of National Intelligence until stepping down after serving a few months in each position during Trump’s first term.
Harris dominates the field of possible Democratic candidates in a recent Emerson College poll commissioned by KTLA parent company Nexstar Media for The Hill and Inside California Politics.
The poll surveyed registered Democrats in California earlier this month, asking who they would theoretically support in 2026.
Harris hasn’t announced plans to join the governor race but is reportedly considering the option.
She won California in her presidential bid on Nov. 5 and was victorious in her three other statewide campaigns, twice for attorney general and once as a U.S. Senate candidate.
Grenell, a Republican and Palm Springs resident, considered seeking the state’s top office when current Gov. Gavin Newsom faced a recall election in 2021, which he overcame. Grenell later opted not to run a day before the filing deadline, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Newsom was elected in 2018 and is currently completing his second term. However, due to term limits, he can’t run again.
Currently, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, former state Controller Betty Yee, former Los Angeles Mayor and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond have all entered the 2026 race.
