Vice President Kamala Harris is making history this election cycle and has experienced a whirlwind campaign after President Joe Biden withdrew from reelection. She became the official nominee for the Democratic party on Aug. 5.
At 60 years old, she represents a younger generation of leaders compared to her 78-year-old counterpart Donald Trump.
Harris began her first presidential campaign during the 2020 election, but dropped out due to lack of funding. She was then selected by President Biden as his vice-presidential candidate for her experiences as the California Attorney General and a U.S Senator.
Kamala Harris was born on Oct. 20, 1964 to a Jamaican born father, who was a professor in economics, and Indian born mother, who was breast cancer research biologist.
She studied at Howard University, a historically black university in Washington D.C where she graduated with a degree in political science and economics.
While at Howard, she had many experiences that led her to where she is today, such as being the mail clerk for California Senator Alan Cranston as well as leading the debate team.
After graduating from Howard, she returned to California to attend the University of California Hastings College of Law where she served as president of its Black Law Students Association.
She was admitted to the California Bar in June of 1990 and she became a deputy district attorney for California that same year.
In 1998, after years in government, Harris was recruited as an Assistant District Attorney where she became Chief of the Career Criminal Division where she prosecuted homicide, burglary, and sexual assault cases.
In 2002, Harris prepared to run for San Francisco District Attorney, even though the odds were against her. Her opponents, Bill Fazio and Terence Hallinan were much more well-known than she was. Through it all, Harris won with a 56 percent of the vote, becoming the first person of color elected as the District Attorney of San Francisco.
Harris was elected Attorney General of California in 2010, where she also became the first woman, Black American, and South Asian American to hold the office in the state’s history.
According to an Aug. 2024 article by CBS news, one of Harris’ main accomplishments as attorney general was “when she, among 40 other attorneys’ generals, reaching a multi-billion-dollar deal with five U.S banks that settled over flawed mortgage foreclosure practices.”
She served as Attorney General of California for seven years until resigning on Jan. 3, 2017 to claim her seat in the U.S senate after receiving endorsement from both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
This victory was the first of many where she vowed to protect people from the policies of President-elect Donald Trump. She promised to protect immigrants from the policies Trump had announced as part of his 2016 campaign.
As Senator, Harris was an advocate for stricter gun laws, the DREAM Act, legalization of cannabis, and taxation reform. She believes in fighting for the American people, a slogan she has carried with her throughout her time in politics.
Four years after being elected into Senate, Harris became the highest ranking female official in U.S history.
Harris resigned her seat to take office as Vice President of the United States. Her stern attitude is what caught President Biden’s attention. He has said that choosing Harris as his running mate was “the best decision I’ve made” according to CNN. By January 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the country’s first female Vice President.
Kamala Devi Harris has lived a life of dedication to the government and the American people. “When we fight, we win!” said Harris at her first speech of the Democratic National Convention back in August. A slogan she hopes that will bring her as winner for the 2024 election.