Richard Grenell receiving honors at CA State Capitol. (Photo: Katy Grimes for Caifornia Globe)
Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell Considers Run For Governor if Harris Enters 2026 Race
‘Should Grenell run, he is probably the GOP’s best shot against Harris’
By Evan Symon, February 14, 2025 2:42 pm
Special Presidential Envoy and former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell announced on Friday that he would consider running for Governor next year if former Vice President Kamala Harris enters the race.
“That is a hot topic. I’ll make a little news, depends on if Kamala Harris runs,” said Grenell at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday. “If Kamala Harris runs for governor, I believe that she has such baggage and hundreds of millions of dollars in educating the voters of how terrible she is, that it’s a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot. And I wouldn’t say no.”
While Grenell would enter the race as the GOP candidate with the most political experience, it is unknown how well he would poll. Grenell did win a few polls during the 2021 recall election, even beating out the top replacement candidate Larry Elder several times before he dropped out that July. As for 2026 Gubernatorial polls, Grenell hasn’t been listed as a candidate. Of the few polls so far, only Dahle, Bianco, and Hilton have gotten more than a few percentage points on polls, with the vast majority of both Republican voters and independent voters remaining undecided.
The pool of candidates for the 2026 California gubernatorial election has been steadily growing over the past two years. Currently, seven Democrats have declared for the race, including well known party figures Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Former State Controller Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The Democrats also have two big names currently considering a run: former Congresswoman Katie Porter and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Recent polling amongst registered Democratic voters have shown that Harris has the majority of support. Porter is likewise popular amongst Democrats, and is the leading candidate should Harris not run. Consensus amongst pollsters have been that at least one or the other will wind up running.
However, on the Republican side, the list of candidates is sparser. As of Friday, only three minor candidates have entered the race for the GOP. The first candidate with elected experience, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, is set to enter the race on Monday. Going into Friday, the GOP has a handful of known candidates considering runs: State Senator and 2022 Gubernatorial candidate Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), former Olympian and 2021 Gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner, and Fox New Host and former advisor to UK Prime Minister David Cameron Steve Hilton. And, thanks to him signing the Newsom recall petition and his recent attacks against the Governor, some have even called on actor Mel Gibson to run.
On Friday, another possible candidate emerged: Special Presidential Envoy and former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell.
After beginning his career as a political advisor in the 1990s, Grenell held positions in the Bush administration, ranging from being a Minister-Counselor at the U.N. in New York to being an advisor to U.S. ambassadors. In the early 2010s, Grenell was a consult and grew in notoriety thanks to him being a frequent guest o news shows. He also joined Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign as a spokesman.
Once Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Grenell then moved up to higher appointments. This included being ambassador to Germany between 2017 and 2020, and then becoming the first openly gay cabinet member in history when he served a short stint as the Director of National Intelligence. Following the first Trump administration, Grenell returned to consulting, becoming a senior advisor to the Republican National Committee focusing on LGBT outreach. In 2021, he was, for a time, a top contender in the 2021 Newsom recall election to replace Newsom until he dropped out of the race that July.
Currently, Grenell once again has several top positions within the second Trump administration. These include being a special presidential envoy and serving as the Executive Director of the Kennedy Center. Earlier this month, Grenell made international headlines following him negotiating the release of six American prisoners in Venezuela, as well as being the boots on the ground in LA for President Trump on the response to the Southern California wildfires.
A possible Grenell v. Harris showdown
Pollsters told the Globe on Friday that Grenell would likely come into the primary as the top GOP candidate and would likely have enough support to face off against Harris.
“Grenell would be a very interesting candidate,” said Stephanie Lewis, a pollster in Southern California, to the Globe on Friday. “While Trump and other Trump officials would likely support any Republican going against Harris, he would be a big voice on the side of Grenell as he has been ‘his guy’ on several things. They’re close enough that Trump might even come out here to give a campaign speech or two for him.
“Then there is his ties with the LGBT community. A gay candidate running in California would probably throw whoever runs against him off their rhythm. With the average voter worried about experience, Grenell could easily sway that too. He definitely has the most political experience amongst GOP candidates and has more that some of the Democratic candidates too.
“Now, he has faced criticism over some of his actions in the Trump administrations, so if he goes against Harris, she would target that. But then again, there’s plenty he could go after on her, and Trump would likely give him some help in a run against her. He knows her weak spots. Trump was pretty much teflon against all of her arguments in debates too. We haven’t seen Grenell in a major debate yet.
“Overall, should Grenell run, he is probably the GOP’s best shot against Harris. In a campaign, he has the experience and the likely help from Trump to give her a legitimate challenge. Plus, knocking her out in the Gubernatorial election would end any hope of a 2028 run and thus give Republican’s one less major candidate to worry about. And look how many people, from both parties, are saying that Harris has no chance at winning the race.
“But a 2026 race between Harris and Grenell? The could honestly be a close one and the debates would be great. Republicans haven’t won a Governor’s race since 2006 in California and they want a good shot at it next year. Of all the current candidates, he would be the best option to do it. He would be great against the others too, but he said he only wants Harris.”
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