Published On 6/5/2026
Relations within the US Democratic Party, despite public displays of friendliness, appear to be more complex than official statements show, especially with the emergence of two heavy names in California that may determine the shape of the 2028 presidential race: Kamala Harris, the former Vice President, and Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor.
At a time when the party is anticipating the possibility of a heated internal confrontation, a parallel political battle is escalating in the background related to the redrawing of electoral districts in New York State, which may reshape the balance of power in the House of Representatives.
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According to a report published by the American Wall Street Journal prepared by Tarini Parti and Eliza Collins, Harris and Newsom, who present themselves as friends and belong to the same generation of Democratic politicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, actually appear to be on a long-term competitive path, fueled by personal ambitions and political intersections within the state of California.
Democratic consultant Gary South: The relationship between Harris and Newsom is like “two cats that have been circling each other in an alley for years”
Cooperation and suspicion
The report quotes democratic strategists as saying that the relationship between them was characterized over two decades by a mixture of cooperation and suspicion, as they shared advisors, donors, and employees, but at the same time they exchanged support and disappointment on multiple occasions.
Democratic consultant Gary South describes their relationship as similar to “two cats that have been circling each other in an alley for years,” referring to the hidden rivalry that characterizes their careers.
The report indicates that both have achieved rapid political rise, making the path to the White House the next logical goal for each of them.
Analysts believe that Newsom, who is close to completing his second term as governor of California, is widely viewed as a potential candidate for the 2028 elections, while Harris is still hesitant after her loss in the 2024 elections to President Donald Trump.
compete
The report reveals that the personal and political indicators between the two parties are not without tension. According to sources within the party, their teams monitor each other’s performance, including book sales and media activity. Harris sold more than 385,000 copies of her book as of last May, compared to more than 100,000 copies of Newsom’s book during the first weeks of its release.
The newspaper adds that the political campaigns associated with them also used extensive purchases of copies of books, in the context of strengthening their political and media presence.
The report also referred to mutual disagreements over personal positions, including Harris’ account in which she stated that Newsom did not call her back at a critical political moment, which was later denied by the governor’s team.
Wall Street Journal:
Amending the current rules may lead to “non-traditional” electoral maps that are less committed to the criteria of geographic cohesion, which weakens political competition and reduces voters’ choices, at a time when partisan polarization is expanding within the United States.
Undeclared rivalry
In a related context, the Wall Street Journal published in its editorial an article by the editorial board that included an analysis indicating the escalation of “redistricting wars” in the United States, considering that this process has become part of a broader partisan conflict that may affect the 2028 elections and beyond.
The editorial explains that New York State has begun steps toward amending the map of its electoral districts, which may give Democrats four additional seats in the House of Representatives, through a constitutional amendment that allows for redrawing the maps.
It indicates that the current map gives Democrats 19 seats versus 7 for Republicans, but the new proposal may change the balance to 23 versus 3.
The editorial criticizes this trend as a continuation of the policies of redrawing districts to serve the dominant party, noting that other states such as California and Virginia witnessed similar processes that led to an unbalanced electoral map, despite the smaller gap in popular vote percentages.
It also recalls that attempts to reform the system in New York in 2014, which established an independent redistricting commission and prevented partisan gerrymandering, were later undermined by the commission’s faltering, allowing the legislature to return to drawing maps in a partisan manner.
warning
The editorial warns that amending the current rules may lead to “non-traditional” electoral maps that are less committed to the criteria of geographic cohesion, which weakens political competition and reduces voters’ choices, at a time when partisan polarization is expanding within the United States.
The article concludes that the American political scene is heading towards a more intense phase, combining a personal rivalry within the Democratic Party between Harris and Newsom, and a broader institutional conflict over the rules of the electoral game itself, which may redraw the map of power in Washington in the coming years.
