Harris stops in key presidential primary state after leaving door wide open to 2028 run

Harris is in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday after making stops Wednesday in Greenville. For more than two decades, South Carolina has been one of the key early-voting states in the Democratic Party's nominating calendar, and visits by potential presidential contenders generate buzz about their national ambitions.

The civil rights organization's gathering gave Harris and eight other Democratic White House hopefuls an opportunity to speak directly to an influential group of Black leaders and activists who are key members of the Democratic Party's base.

Harris is holding a book tour event on Thursday for her memoir, "107 Days," her look back at her abbreviated 2024 campaign.

Her decision last summer to pass on launching a 2026 gubernatorial campaign in her home state of California was seen as clearing the runway for a 2028 presidential bid. Her nationwide book tour has helped keep her visible while building email lists and boosting donor interest.

The former vice president's current southern swing also includes fundraising appearances for the state Democratic Parties in Georgia and North Carolina, two crucial general election battlegrounds.

Harris narrowly lost both those states and the five other key battlegrounds to Trump in the 2024 election.

Pointing to Harris' schedule, a veteran strategist in the former vice president's political orbit recently told Fox News Digital, "Of course we are reading tea leaves."

The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said, "No one knows what she is planning to do for 2028, but until she tells us herself, she is going to continue to travel, speak up about the issues she cares about the most."

If she does run again in 2028, Harris would be considered one of the early frontrunners in what's expected to be a crowded and competitive race for the Democratic nomination.

"Democrats are kicking off the 2028 primary by parading Kamala Harris and a roster of failed governors trying to outrun their own records," RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels told Fox News last week as she pointed to potential contenders who appeared at Sharpton's convention.