Kamala Harris is keeping her options open as she returns to the campaign trail in the final days before Election Day. The former vice president is stumping for Democrats in battleground states, including events in Wisconsin on Monday, while her public appearances revive questions about 2028.

People who have known or worked for Harris said they remain genuinely uncertain whether she will launch another presidential campaign. One person close to her said Harris is using her travels around the country to take the electorate’s pulse and determine whether she fits what voters want.

Those familiar with Harris described her as cautious when making decisions, gathering as much information as possible before reaching a judgment. A former 2024 campaign staffer called her activity since leaving the White House “confusing” and described her political future as “the question of the hour.”

The former staffer said Harris appears to be carefully positioning herself as a party figurehead, but not necessarily preparing another White House campaign. Harris has said she has not decided whether to run again and is focused instead on helping Democrats regain control of Congress.

The midterms will be a defining moment for Democrats as several progressive candidates, including democratic socialists, compete for congressional seats. A person familiar with Harris’ thinking said she believes Americans are looking for aggressive executives after the Trump era.

“Folks are angry, you know, they’re pissed,” Harris said during an August podcast interview with former Georgia state Representative Stacey Abrams. Harris also said recent elections show voters are finished with the status quo, although she said it remains too early to know where the Democratic Party is headed.

Harris’ changing policy positions have created political obstacles, including during the 2024 campaign, when voters cited uncertainty about what she represented. More recently, she has supported expanding the Supreme Court and called for revisiting the abolition of the Electoral College.

Earlier this month, Harris condemned Israel’s “horrific” actions in Gaza and expressed regret that the Biden administration did not seek to restrict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu sooner and more forcefully. A former adviser said presidential candidates must know what they believe and what type of candidate they want to be.

Adam Green, cofounder of the Progressive for Change Committee, wants Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run in 2028. He criticized Harris’ economic record, including her shift from supporting Medicare-for-All to backing an expansion of Obamacare, and said economic populism was not instinctive for her.

Affordability remains voters’ leading priority in polling. Green praised Harris’ 2024 debate answers on abortion and democracy but said, “She threw not one punch on economic issues.”

A Harris bundler who recently spoke with her expressed doubt that donors would finance another presidential campaign. Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom share overlapping donor networks, and Newsom told CNN he would not run if Harris entered the race because he would not put their mutual supporters in that position.

Another campaign could also remind Democrats that Donald Trump won the popular vote and all seven swing states in 2024. A former Harris adviser said her brand once represented the future, but she now represents the party’s recent past, creating a major political adjustment.

Her allies warn Democrats against dismissing her. Harris remains a frontrunner in early national polling collected by MS NOW partner FiftyPlusOne, and her support among Black voters could provide a major advantage, particularly in South Carolina, the party’s first primary state.

Kevin Harris, a Democratic strategist with no relation to the former vice president, noted that Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton began and ended their primary campaigns as frontrunners. He said Harris would be the only potential candidate who had already received a significant number of votes in every state.

Even if Harris declines to run, she retains considerable influence within the party. Democratic politicians continue seeking her advice by phone, and YouGov rankings place her as the country’s third most popular Democrat, behind Barack Obama and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

That standing has made criticism from possible rivals politically delicate. Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin recently said Harris should not run again, while Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called Harris’ memoir descriptions of him as overtly ambitious “blatant lies.”

Harris will campaign Thursday in Georgia for Sen. Jon Ossoff, deliver the keynote address at the Fulton County Democratic Party’s Annual Dinner and participate in an NAACP voter turnout effort in Atlanta. She is also scheduled to headline Monday’s NAACP town hall in Wisconsin after recent appearances in Nevada, New Hampshire and Mississippi.

Other possible 2028 contenders are moving as well. Pete Buttigieg is campaigning in Georgia and Wisconsin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is weighing a presidential bid after the midterms, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has said he is focused on seeking reelection.

Once the election results arrive, the maneuvering over 2028 will no longer be waiting in the wings. Harris may remain undecided, but her travels, party influence and uncertain political positioning have already made her next move one of the Democrats’ biggest questions.