In the wake of her failed 2024 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris privately concluded that she could have won — if only she had more time. That’s one of several revelations in Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, a new book by journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes chronicling last year’s tumultuous race.
“She could have won, she told friends, if only the election was later in the calendar — or she got in earlier,” the authors write. “In other words, Joe Biden was to blame. If only he had not run.”
Harris’ short 107-day campaign followed President Biden’s late decision to bow out. While some allies echoed her frustration, others dismissed the notion that time was the issue. “That is (expletive) bonkers,” one Harris friend told the authors, arguing that a longer campaign could have hurt more than helped.
A campaign adviser offered a sharper critique: “We didn’t need more time. We needed more substance. And she did not have more substance.”
Despite early polling boosts following the Democratic National Convention, Harris struggled to gain traction. The book portrays deep skepticism among Democratic donors and strategists, even as they pushed for Biden to step aside. “Well, at least she has a pulse,” one veteran operative quipped.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also described as opposing Harris’ candidacy from the start, with one confidant saying, “She doesn’t like Harris.”
Since her loss, Harris has kept a low profile but recently resurfaced at a Black women’s summit in California. She is now weighing a 2026 gubernatorial bid to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom. According to the book, campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon advised her to wait a year before deciding.
If Harris enters the race, she’d likely be a frontrunner — but at the cost of a future presidential run, especially with 2028 looming as an open contest.
