If Vice President Kamala Harris were to run for governor of California in 2026, she would have a major advantage over the large field of candidates vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a new poll.

The latest poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies, co-sponsored by the Times, finds that if Harris enters California, crowded 2026 gubernatorial racealmost half of voters would be very or somewhat likely to support it.

Harris would benefit overall from stronger support from Democrats, who have a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans. About 72% of Democrats said they would very likely or somewhat likely consider Harris for governor, compared to 8% of Republicans and 38% of voters with no party preference.

“Almost every voter in this state has an opinion on her, and that’s really the big advantage she brings to early voting,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll. “None of the other candidates are as well known to the voting public.”

Still, the poll suggests Californians may be less supportive of Harris’ candidacy for governor compared to her bid for president this year. According to the poll, 46% of likely voters were somewhat (13%) or very (33%) likely to support her for governor in 2026. As of Tuesday, Harris had won 59% of the presidential votes counted in California.

The poll is the first to gauge how California feels about Harris’ candidacy for governor. Harris has not said publicly what she plans to do after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, and a representative for Harris did not respond to a request for comment.

Harris has a home in Brentwood and enjoyed a successful career in California politics for nearly two decades, rising from San Francisco district attorney to California attorney general and then to the U.S. Senate. A few years ago, she opened a campaign account to raise money to run for governor, but public records show she closed it in 2018.

Although Harris has not indicated she is interested in running for governor, the idea was launched by some Californians disappointed that she lost the presidential race.

Harris would join a group of more than a dozen candidates who have either entered the race to succeed Newsom or are considering whether to launch a campaign. Newsom is serving his second term and cannot run again.

Regardless of the poll’s questions about Harris, California voters were asked to choose their first and second favorites from a long list of candidates who have entered the gubernatorial race and potential candidates.

Voters’ opinions of Harris cannot be compared to those of other candidates because voters were not asked to choose between them, DiCamillo said. Including her in a face-off with other candidates seemed premature, DiCamillo said, because she was still running for president at the time of the vote.

More than half of registered voters say they have no preference among the candidates. Among those who do, their favorites are not yet entered in the race.

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), who has not said whether she will run, would lead the pack as a first or second choice for 13 percent of voters, according to the poll. Two Republicans are reportedly considering their campaigns, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and state Sen. Brian Dahle, who ran against Newsom in 2022, were the first or second choice of 12% and 11% of registered voters, respectively.

Porter, who will leave the House of Representatives in January, has been among the potential candidates for governor since she lost his bid for the US Senate in March. When Fox 11’s Elex Michaelson was asked last weekend if she would run, she said she was “I always think.”

Two Democrats who launched campaigns each have 7% support: Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and former Los Angeles Mayor Antoino Villaraigosa. The same goes for Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who has not said whether he will run. Republican commentator Steve Hiltonwho is also evaluating an offer, would be the first or second choice of 6% of voters.

Some candidates already in the running, including state Supt. of Public Education Tony Thurmonddeclares the senator. Tony Atkins and former State Comptroller Betty Yeshad the support of less than 5% of registered voters.

The same goes for several politicians who have not announced a campaign, including State Atty. General Rob Bonta, who declared that he was “seriously consider” running; developer Rick Caruso, who lost the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral race; and Republican Lanhee Chen, who lost the 2022 election for state comptroller.

It’s an “impressive list” of candidates, DiCamillo said, but the large share of California voters with no opinion on any of them (52%) highlights how little most voters know about the race – and what advantage Harris would have because of it. name recognition.

“Most California voters don’t pay attention to what’s happening in state politics,” DiCamillo said. “That’s why you need huge amounts of campaign resources to get your name out there.”

The poll found Porter would be an early leader among the state’s registered Democrats, as well as among Asian American, white and female voters. Having the support of women is an advantage, DiCamillo said, because the majority of registered Democrats in California are women.

Latino voters slightly favor two Democrats – Villaraigosa and Becerra – as well as Bianco. Latinos favor both Republicans and Democrats, DiCamillo said: reflects the shift to the right which he tracked in a poll of President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey, both of whom performed “better among Latinos than we’ve seen historically.”

“The Latino vote now appears larger than in previous elections,” DiCamillo said.

The poll was conducted online in English and Spanish from October 22 to 29 among 4,838 registered voters in California. The margin of error is approximately 2 percentage points.