Vice President Kamala Harris would be the top pick among Californians if she entered the state’s next governor’s race, according to a new poll from the University of California, Irvine. Though support remains divided, 41 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Harris over an unnamed Republican candidate.
The UCI-OC Poll, conducted in partnership with the research firm Truedot, found that 29 percent of respondents favored the unnamed GOP contender. Sixteen percent said they were undecided, and 14 percent indicated they would not vote if those were the only two options.
Harris has not yet announced a decision but is expected to do so by the end of the summer. In the meantime, she has reportedly ramped up outreach to longtime allies and Democratic stakeholders. While some major donors remain hesitant—citing concerns over a possible repeat of her failed 2024 presidential run—others have held off on backing alternative candidates until Harris makes her intentions clear.
Despite mixed enthusiasm among some Democratic circles, Harris enters the conversation with undeniable advantages, including near-universal name recognition and the ability to raise significant campaign funds quickly.
In a separate question included in the poll, Harris led a field of seven declared and potential gubernatorial contenders by double digits. These candidates were listed without party affiliation, and while Harris came out on top, 40 percent of respondents said they were unsure whom they would support.
The findings come from two recent polls conducted by the UC Irvine School of Social Ecology. The first surveyed 2,143 adults in California between May 27 and June 2, with a margin of error of 2.9 percent. The second, held from May 29 to June 4, polled 2,000 adults and had a margin of error of 3.6 percent.
As speculation grows about Harris’s political future, the poll suggests that if she enters the race, she would do so as a frontrunner—but not without significant challenges ahead.
