Are Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris destined to clash?
Vice President Kamala Harris took a lot of heat for her performance in her first foreign trip as the nations No. 2 official, some bloggers calling her excursion into Latin America a continuation of her failure theater.  That phrase came from a conservative website, but the far left also blasted Harris for telling the poorest of the Central American poor Do not come to the United States. The remark had future electoral implications because Harris fellow Democrats of most stripes are sympathetic to poor but enterprising immigrants from countries like Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They blanched upon hearing her simple statement of the immigration preferences of the current administration and all other recent ones. Donald Trump, for example, took heat for his treatment of immigrants, especially children. But Barack Obamas administration, with current President Joe Biden as vice president, actually deported more prospective newcomers to America. Whether Biden seeks a second term or becomes a caretaker president who leaves after just one, its all but certain Harris will one day run again for Americas highest office. If she does, she could collide with Gavin Newsom, provided the governor survives this falls recall election, as every nonpartisan poll indicates he will  and by a handy margin. As a rule, politicians who triumph over recall attempts are strengthened, the best California example being Dianne Feinstein, an unbeatable U.S. Senate candidate after she trampled a recall attempt while mayor of San Francisco. If Newsom beats the recall and then wins reelection next year, he could choose to run for Feinsteins Senate seat in 2024, when she will be 90, or he could opt to run for president and thus crash into Harris. That would be a huge change. Newsom and Harris have shared campaign managers for many years and have long had an informal understanding never to oppose each others ambitions. Thats why Newsom, then lieutenant governor, stood by quietly awaiting a 2018 run for governor while Harris won an open Senate seat with little competition in 2016. But their understanding might not survive the reality that time is passing and neither is getting younger. Until Harris Latin American trip, Newsom had never uttered a critical word about the vice president, who  like Newsom  got her start in San Francisco politics, winning two terms as district attorney before becoming Californias attorney general and then a senator. But Harris no sooner returned to Washington, D.C.. from her trip than Newsom checked in on the side of left-wing Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who earlier blasted Harris for her anti-immigration remarks. In a press conference just after Harris return, Newsom observed that California has long had a different approach to immigration, a more inclusive approach. He added that he has consulted with other federal officials about how California can be more supportive in terms of the needs of asylum seekers.  Thats not exactly the Harris approach these days. In fact, her blunt advice for the Central American poor to stay put was reminiscent of her generally pro-police responses to law enforcement excesses while she was attorney general. Their mutual campaign manager, Dan Newman, did not respond to emails seeking to ask him about that possibility. For sure, it would be entirely unprecedented for two top politicos from the same state to vie for the same partys nomination for president. It could set up a situation where they split what amounts to a pro-California vote, letting someone else slip past and get the nomination. SB 12 another impediment to housing construction in state of California: Letters Right now, Harris is best positioned to win the next Democratic nomination race, whenever and however Biden leaves the Oval Office. But she could be weakened in a primary by alienating the partys left, which demonstrated its clout by keeping Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders a prominent candidate for most of the last decade. Newsom, of course, could also opt to play the waiting-his-turn game again and spend years in the Senate if he took the Feinstein seat. Theres a lot uncertain here for both Harris and Newsom, but the possibilities are entertaining, at the very least. Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com.