Kamala Harris says running for president with Pete Buttigieg would have been ‘risk’ as a Black woman and gay man
"Part of me wanted to say, screw it, let’s just do it," writes Harris in her upcoming memoir, 107 Days
By Aaron Sugg
Kamala Harris has revealed in her upcoming memoir, 107 Days, that choosing Pete Buttigieg as her running mate was “too big of a risk” for a Black woman to run with a gay man.
Her book details the former vice president’s 2024 presidential campaign after Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the election, the shortest political run in modern history.
The former South Bend mayor and prominent gay politician in the US served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2021 to 2025.
“Part of me wanted to say, screw it, let’s just do it” – Kamala Harris on appointing Pete Buttigieg as her running mate
She praises him as her “first choice,” writing: “A sincere public servant with the rare talent of being able to frame liberal arguments in a way that makes it possible for conservatives to hear them.”
She added that their friendship made the decision even more difficult: “I love Pete. I love working with Pete… We were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk.”
Instead, the 60-year-old Democrat chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, though the ticket ultimately lost to Donald Trump, who was re-elected as President of the United States in January.
In response to Harris’ reasoning, Buttigieg told Politico: “I was surprised when I read that. I just believe in giving Americans more credit.”
In July, Harris wrote in a statement: “After deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for governor [of California] in this election. For now, my leadership, and public service, will not be in elected office.” She added that she would reveal “more details in the months ahead about my own plans.”
“I don’t want to go back into the system. I think it’s broken” – Harris on running for office
Last month, Harris appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she spoke candidly about her memoir.
When Colbert asked whether she might return to a different office, insinuating a possible future presidential run, Harris was quick to shut him down: “No, no… I made the decision that, just for now, I don’t want to go back into the system. I think it’s broken.”
Colbert described it as “harrowing” for someone of her skillset to say the system is broken. Harris replied, “Well, but it’s also evident, isn’t it?”
“I am absolutely going to be part of the fight” – Harris on fighting for civil rights outside of the system
“I am always going to be part of the fight. That is not going to change. I am absolutely going to be part of the fight,” she told the host.
As Democrats look ahead to the 2028 presidential race, Harris’s memoir is set to be released next week. She described it as “basically what I would offer as a behind-the-scenes sharing of what it means to run for president. It was an intense experience to run for president in a way that no one had run before.”