U.S. Senator Kamala Harris Becomes First Woman of Color to Appear on a Presidential Ticket
After months of anticipation, we now know who likely-Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden has chosen to be the nation’s second-in-command if he wins.
On Aug. 11, the former Vice President selected California Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate. Barring any setbacks, Harris will become the first woman of color to appear on a Presidential ticket.
“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign,” Biden tweeted.
“@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals. I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief,” Harris wrote on Twitter.
“I’ve known Senator @KamalaHarris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing,” former President Barack Obama tweeted.
Not long after the news, the Trump campaign put out an attack video, dubbing her “Phony Kamala.”
Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964 in Oakland CA to a mother who emigrated from India and a father who emigrated from Jamaica. She identifies as an African American woman, and grew up attending both a black Baptist church and Hindu temple. At 12 years old, Harris and her sister Maya moved with her mother to Quebec, Canada.
In the 1980s, Harris would go on to study at Howard University with a double major in political science and economics. In 1989, she would earn her law degree from the University of California and was admitted to the state bar the next year.
Throughout the next twenty years, Harris moved up the legal ladder, obtaining positions that included deputy district attorney in Alameda County, Assistant District Attorney and later lead DA in San Francisco.
In 2010, Harris won election as California Attorney General, and was reelected in 2014. In 2016, upon the retirement of Senator Barbara Boxer, Harris ran for the U.S. Senate seat and defeated Loretta Sanchez in the general election.
In 2019, Harris announced her candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2020. Along the campaign trail, she participated in several debates, famously going after Biden on race. When the subject of busing children to schools came up, and Biden gave an unsatisfactory answer, Harris replied, “There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed to school every day. And that little girl was me.”
In December, Harris withdrew from the race, citing lack of funds to continue.
Upon hearing the news, New Jersey’s U.S. Senator Cory Booker tweeted, “I’m proud to call @KamalaHarris my dear friend and sister – and next year, I’ll be even more proud to call her our Vice President.
“This is history. Kamala is a trailblazer who will serve this country well as the first Black and Asian American woman on a major party’s ticket.”
Unless there are any unusual developments, Biden and Harris will represent the Democratic Party as its respective presidential and vice presidential nominees against incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Three presidential debates have been tentatively scheduled, while one is reserved for VP candidates.
