Former Vice President Kamala Harris claims California Governor Gavin Newsom did not respond to her urgent call asking for his backing after President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race last year.
Harris details this moment in her forthcoming memoir, 107 Days, where she recounts reaching out to several high-profile Democrats seeking their endorsement.
But when she tried to contact Newsom, a longtime political ally, she received only the briefest of text messages: ‘Hiking. Will call back.’
Harris adds pointedly: ‘(He never did.)’
The revealing details in the book add new tension between two of California’s leading Democrats and highlight the behind-the-scenes drama that ensued following Biden’s surprising departure from the race.
Set for release next week, Harris’s memoir narrates the hectic 107 days between Biden’s exit and her eventual loss to Donald Trump in the general election.
The book provides one of the most candid insights into Harris’s brief campaign and her thinly veiled frustration with Democrats who delayed or withheld their support.
She says she called ‘dozens’ of Democrats seeking immediate endorsements, knowing the window was short and the media narrative was rapidly forming.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris claims California Governor Gavin Newsom did not respond to her urgent phone call on the day Joe Biden exited the presidential race in July 2024.
Caught off guard by the revelation, Newsom downplayed the drama on Friday when questioned by reporters during a press event in San Francisco
Some, like Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, initially demurred but ultimately endorsed her.
Of Pritzker, she wrote: ‘As governor of Illinois, I’m the convention host. I can’t commit.’
According to Harris, while others took her calls or got back to her quickly, Newsom never returned hers directly.
Instead, he posted a public endorsement hours later, after Harris had already secured the nomination.
Caught off guard by the revelation, Newsom downplayed the drama on Friday when questioned by reporters during a press event in San Francisco.
‘There was an unknown number,’ he said. ‘Meanwhile, I was on a text chain trying to get in touch with the Biden administration, because I was completely surprised that the president dropped out.’
He claimed he was hiking at the time, received the message from an ‘unknown number’, and told his team he would respond later – which he insists he did via text.
Harris’s account, however, makes clear that she believes he never followed up with a promised phone call.
Biden finally bowed out, Harris moved fast. She had 107 days to rally support, define her candidacy, and take on Trump. The pair are seen in Washington D.C. in November 2022
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris both rose to political power coming through the San Francisco Bay Area
‘That exact same moment, [I] was working with my team to draft a statement,’ Newsom added. ‘I assume that’s in the book as well.’
Harris never mentions Newsom’s eventual endorsement which came hours after the phone call attempt.
Instead, she uses the anecdote to paint a broader picture of selective loyalty and political calculation from within her own party.
Asked on Friday point-blank if he called her back, Newsom waved it off.
‘I don’t know about accusations,’ he said. ‘I haven’t read the book. So it’s hard to even opine about context… it’s trivial.’
Newsom backed Biden early in 2024 and was one of his most loyal surrogates, even as whispers swirled about his own aspirations for a presidential run.
When Biden stumbled in debates against Trump, Newsom’s name was floated as a possible replacement.
But when Biden finally bowed out, Harris moved fast. She had 107 days to rally support, define her candidacy, and take on Trump.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is seen speaking during the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in August 2024
Former Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party’s presidential nomination in 2024
During the Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Harris formally became the nominee, Newsom appeared on Pod Save America and made a veiled jab at how quickly the party coalesced behind her.
‘We went through a very open process, a very inclusive process,’ he said, sarcastically. ‘It was bottom-up. I don’t know if you know that. That’s what I’ve been told to say!’
The remark, while delivered with a smile, was widely interpreted as a dig suggesting that the nomination had been handed to Harris without true deliberation.
In her memoir, Harris doesn’t address the convention joke directly, but the bitterness is apparent in her omission of Newsom’s support from her narrative.
Harris has not ruled out another presidential run in 2028.
Newsom, who is term-limited in 2026, has also continued to deny presidential ambitions but it would appear the two California Democrats are on a collision course in the years to come.
