WHO IS KAMALA HARRIS

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential pick for the November 2020 US Presidential election, in which Joe Biden is the party’s candidate to take on incumbent President Donald Trump. Harris is the first woman of colour on a major party ticket in the United States. Biden and Harris will take on Republican candidates Trump and Mike Pence in the upcoming elections.

Harris was always seen as a moderate when compared with other far-left democrats like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In her presidential campaign last year, Harris presented herself as someone who could appeal to both progressives and moderates. Rather than trying to upend the economy, her policy thinking was centered around incremental, targeted results, particularly focusing on marginalised groups like women, people of colour and low-income Americans.

Born in Oakland, California, Harris is the daughter of an Indian-born mother and a Jamaican-born father. She attended Howard University and is a member of a prominent black sorority 'Alpha Kappa Alpha'. She was the first black woman to be the San Francisco district attorney and the first Asian American and black woman attorney general of California. The 55-year-old was elected to the US Senate in 2016 with a landslide victory.

Harris often argues that her identity makes her uniquely suited to fight for people who have been traditionally ignored.

Why Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris as his running mate

Though Biden announced that he would pick a woman as his running mate, Harris was not seen as a favourite. Harris likely pipped Senator Janet Rice because of the latter’s lack of experience in domestic electoral politics. Biden settled on Harris only after an exhaustive review that forged new political alliances, deepened existing rivalries and further elevated a cohort of women as leaders in their party.

The Kamala Harris factor in US elections

In choosing Harris, the Biden campaign is banking on her experience, the record of governance and racial diversity. Harris will be tasked with endearing herself to voters who usually vote Republican but do not support Trump, encouraging them to vote for her party rather than stay home on the election day. The Biden campaign would hope that while he is inclined to focus more on the foreign policy, Harris could be more engaged with domestic politics.

KAMALA HARRIS NEWS

Kamala Harris urges Americans to vote in large numbers to bring change
Harris was addressing a rally in Republican stronghold Texas, in a first for a Democratic vice presidential nominee in decades| October 31, 2020, Saturday
Pandemic politics: Biden shuns 'false promises' of a fast fix for Covid-19
Focused firmly on Covid-19, Joe Biden vowed not to campaign in the election homestretch on the false promises of being able to ...| October 29, 2020, Thursday
2020 US Presidential election to be most expensive, may cost $14 billion
The 2020 Presidential election is turning out to be the most expensive election in history and twice as expensive as the previous ...| October 29, 2020, Thursday
US elections: Biden will be a better foreign policy president, survey says
Foreign governments will be more willing to cooperate with the United States if Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden wins ...| October 29, 2020, Thursday
Press, social media blocking serious charges against Biden: Donald Trump
Donald Trump accused media of blocking serious charges of corruption against his rival presidential candidate Joe Biden, saying ...| October 29, 2020, Thursday
Kamala Harris seeks creation of police registry with records of misconduct
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris sought the creation of a registry of police officers with misconduct ...| October 29, 2020, Thursday
US elections 2020: Kamala Harris is smart as a devil, says Joe Biden
Kamala Harris is smart as a devil, has a backbone like a ramrod and is vastly experienced, Joe Biden said, defending his decision ...| October 27, 2020, Tuesday
'Something wrong with her', says Trump as he mocks Kamala Harris' laughter
US President Donald Trump mocked Senator Kamala Harris and said her frequent bursts of laughter at serious questions suggests ...| October 27, 2020, Tuesday
US elections: Over 7 mn voted early in Texas, Harris to campaign Friday
A massive number of people have already voted in Texas since early voting started on October 13, leading experts to predict that ...| October 26, 2020, Monday
'Our values are shared by majority of American people': Kamala Harris
Addressing her supporters at Cuyahoga Community College, Harris talked about the crisis of systemic racism| October 25, 2020, Sunday