To the former vice president Kamala Harris just mentioned the elections so that attendees at a civil rights conference in this city would jump to their feet and begin chanting, “Run again! Run again!” Harris smiled and asked the thousands of people gathered in a hotel room for the annual convention of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) for silence, then said what many wanted to hear: “I’m considering it.” It was one of his most explicit signals yet that he might return to politics, in response to Sharpton’s question about whether he would run for president in 2028.
Some Democrats and political analysts have expressed skepticism about whether Harris should attempt a return to national politics after his tough loss to President Donald Trump in 2024. But the warm reception she received Friday from a crowd of mostly Black voters shows why the first Black woman to serve as vice president could still be a key figure for Democrats heading into the next presidential election. Harris appeared on the third day of a four-day event in which Sharpton, the commentator and civil rights activist, introduced several Democratic presidential hopefuls to members of his NAN organization from around the country.
None drew as large a crowd as Harris, with spectators filling every seat and forming long lines along the walls of a hotel ballroom in Times Square. After Harris’ appearance, the audience was much calmer when they saw former transportation secretary and 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who received a polite response and then a standing ovation when, at the end of his speech, he hinted that he planned to run again. Sharpton introduced Harris with a touching tribute to their long relationship, but in an interview he was coy about his support for her compared to other guests, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Sharpton said he is not “proposing anyone” as a 2028 Democratic front-runner, but he believes Harris is still a candidate with great potential. “To say that someone who got more votes than any other presidential candidate in American history, with the exception of Trump (and Joe Biden), should be left out of the conversation two years later is crazy,” Sharpton said. “He has a proven track record of getting votes, and I think he has considerable support.” Noting that she ran for the Democratic nomination in 2004, Sharpton added that “if I were thinking about running, I wouldn’t rule her out of the race.”
High-quality polls on Democratic preferences for potential 2028 presidential candidates have been scarce, and many pollsters are reluctant to poll voters so early. Some polls have shown that Black voters still hold Harris in high regard, including a Washington Post-Ipsos poll in September that found that 72% of Black Democrats and Democratic supporters have a favorable opinion of the former vice president. This compares to 50% of California Governor Gavin Newsom, another possible presidential candidate, but its lower popularity is mainly due to the fact that people do not have a formed opinion.
Overall, the survey found that American adults were more likely to have an unfavorable impression of Harris, at 52%, than a favorable one, at 36%. Harris has hinted at a possible return to politics before, including in a February interview in which she said, “Maybe,” when asked if she was thinking about running for president again. At the NAN event, Harris’s lengthy speech about her experience sounded like a resume with an emphasis on her foreign policy skills. “I served for four years just shy of the presidency of the United States. I spent countless hours in my West Wing office, a few steps from the Oval Office. I spent countless hours in the Oval Office, in the Crisis Room. “I know what the job entails and I know what it requires,” he said.
Harris also highlighted the time she has spent traveling the country since losing the election and received loud applause when she criticized Trump for failing to curb inflation. and for having chosen war in Iran. He said he hasn’t been able to sleep thinking about how Trump’s belligerence toward long-standing allies and the cancellation of foreign aid programs like USAID have altered the United States’ standing in the world. When Sharpton asked him directly if Harris would run again, the crowd erupted in applause before he could respond. When they finally calmed down, she booed them again, saying, “Listen, maybe so.” “The American people,” Harris continued, “have a right to expect that anyone who wants to run for public office and be a leader will not focus on themselves or their own interests.
He has a proven track record of getting votes, and I believe he has considerable support.
It must focus on the American people. And that’s how I see it.” Afterward, several audience members said they were delighted with the performance. “Oh, it was phenomenal!” said Sharmaine Byrd, 57, a pastor who runs a nonprofit community organization in Brooklyn. She had seen all the speakers so far, but Harris “is the best. I support her unconditionally.” Terryl Buford, 64, traveled from Memphis to the convention in part to see Harris, whom she said had great vision and an impressive track record. “She has a insightful view of society and a record of contributions that have enriched America. In addition, it is a great source of inspiration for women,” said Buford, a public official.
Dorothea Caldwell-Brown, a retired New York City attorney, said she was unsure about Harris when she joined the presidential race in 2024 after President Joe Biden dropped out. “But what he accomplished in such a short time taught me a lot about his strength, his resilience and his commitment,” Caldwell-Brown said. Harris “without a doubt” should run again, he said.