Failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris is looking ahead with thoughts of creating an “institute for policy and ideas,” with one of her top advisers contacting universities to explore bringing her think tank to their campuses, according to a new report.
Longtime aide Brian Nelson has spoken to several schools, including Stanford and Howard, to discuss hosting the think tank, but other allies have warned her that fundraising for her center could leave her open to attack in future political races, according to The New York Times.
The former vice president has largely remained out of the public eye after her loss last fall to President Donald Trump. There are rumors that she may be looking at another try at the White House in 2028 or to run for governor of California.
Meanwhile, she has just a short time to decide what to do to keep money coming in. As a former vice president, she gets only six months after leaving to keep receiving federal funding for an office, and by the end of July she’ll need a new source of revenue so she can keep paying her remaining aides.
Harris and her husband, attorney Doug Emhoff, have also been weighing opportunities while being concerned about political repercussions.
She will speak in Australia later this month, and Emhoff has been eying public speaking engagements and has resumed his legal career with a partnership at Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, earning a reported $6 million annually, according to people informed on the situation.
Harris’ loss in November is also remaining on her mind after traditionally Democrat voting blocs chose Trump over her. Many Democrats, though, blame former President Joe Biden more for the loss and his aides for believing he could win reelection and keeping him in the race.
Even with her high profile, the lineup for the Democrat nomination in 2028 is growing, including potentially her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has remained in the public eye and is on a national town hall tour.
While some of her aides say she’d be the front-runner in a new race, others argue that in a contest for the future of the party, she could be regarded as representing the failures of its past.
Some say the Democrats are not ready to nominate another woman so soon out of fear that the nation is too sexist to elect its first female president.
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