Kamala Harris will not run for California governor

Speculation regarding Kamala Harris’s political future has escalated since her defeat in the 2024 presidential race. Many thought she would run for governor of California, her home state. But she has now put such speculation to rest with this statement:

Over the past six months, I have spent time reflecting on this moment in our nation’s history and the best way for me to continue fighting for the American people and advancing the values and ideals I hold dear. I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their governor. I love this state, its people and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election.

Her decision leaves open the possibility that she could mount a third run for the White House in 2028 or step away from electoral politics altogether.

As the founder of a nonpartisan ministry, any response from me will necessarily be nonpartisan. What, then, could I say that would be relevant to this partisan announcement and also biblical in perspective?

Nothing.

And that’s my point.

Tim Keller on partisan politics

There was a day when evangelical Christians could be found aligned with both political parties in America. Bill Clinton was a lifelong Baptist and a lifelong Democrat. Jimmy Carter was a Baptist Sunday school teacher and a Democratic governor and president. John F. Kennedy’s Catholicism nearly cost him the 1960 election, but his church’s conservative moral positions did not keep him and many others from aligning with the Democratic Party.

Then came the legalization of abortion in 1973. As the Republican Party increasingly aligned with pro-life convictions and the Democratic Party with pro-choice positions, many who believe life to be sacred from conception felt they could vote only for Republicans. As a passionate pro-life supporter, I understand this position.

But abortion, while enormously significant for our nation and our future, is not the only moral issue our nation faces. As Tim Keller noted in a now-famous New York Times article:

Following both the Bible and the early church, Christians should be committed to racial justice and the poor, but also to the understanding that sex is only for marriage and for nurturing family. One of these views seems liberal and the other looks oppressively conservative. The historical Christian positions on social issues do not fit into contemporary alignments.

Rev. Keller was right. As a result, I must beware claiming biblical warrant for my partisan opinions regarding Ms. Harris and her political career as though the two were necessarily the same. I hope my partisan beliefs are motivated and shaped by Scripture, but I must not claim that “my” party is unambiguously biblical while the “other” party is unambiguously not.

Rev. Keller cites the British ethicist James Mumford, who warned about “package-deal ethics.” In this approach, you cannot work with a political party unless you embrace all of its approved positions.

To take this view of a political party forfeits our ability to speak truth to power. It forces us into idolatry that elevates humans to a place of inerrant perfection, requiring us to overlook their inevitable shortcomings and failures.

If a doctor cannot ever tell her patient when they are sick, how can she help them be well?

Mark Twain on patriotism

We owe our leaders our intercession (1 Timothy 2:1–2) and the “governing authorities” our support (Romans 13:1–7). But as Peter noted, while we are to “love the brotherhood” and “honor the emperor,” we are to “fear God” alone (1 Peter 2:17).

Over the years, I have often said that I am convinced God is calling more Christians into public service than are answering the call. I am also persuaded by James Davison Hunter’s To Change the World that culture changes most effectively when we achieve our highest place of influence and serve there faithfully.

Some of my heroes in the faith are political leaders who have served Christ by serving the common good. If their political party had been perfect, I could not have been a part of it.

Mark Twain defined patriotism as “supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

Taking the second position is vital to fulfilling the first.