Joe Biden announced Tuesday that Kamala Harris will be his running mate for the 2020 election, making California senator the first Black woman to run for president of a major political party.
In selecting Harris, Biden adds a former primary rival who focused her own presidential bid on her willingness to take on Trump and show Americans that she would fight for them.
She gained national prominence within the Democratic Party by questioning Trump nominees during the House hearing, from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Harris’ selection comes months after Biden promised to elect a woman to run on the Democratic ticket. Harris, 55, is now the third woman to serve as a vice presidential candidate for a major political party, after Geraldine Ferraro as the Democratic vice president in 1984 and Sarah Palin as the Republican vice president in 2008.
Aware that his age could be a concern for some voters, Biden, 77, said he is “a bridge” to a new list of Democratic leaders, and by choosing Harris, more than 20 years his junior, he has a leading figure from a younger generation within the party.
Within the pantheon of female candidates who considered the former vice president, Harris was long considered the most likely choice because of the breadth of her experience as a U.S. senator, former attorney general in California and former district attorney of San Francisco.
While potential candidates like Atlanta Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, California U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and Rep. In Florida, Val Demings, were seen as additional additions to the ticket, none of them have been by Democratic voters like Harris, and they also had no experience in all levels of politics. With her multiracial background as the child of two immigrants to the United States, her allies believed she could complement Biden as a symbol of a changing America.
She has also proved a hardworking surrogate for Biden in recent months, taking part in everything from virtual policy events with voters in swing districts to a live DJ dance party fundraiser featuring Diplo and D-Nice online.
However, some members of Biden’s team opposed the election of Harris. A recent Politico story notes that earlier sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who helped pet candidates, was still appalled by her attack on Biden during a June 2019 debate in Miami when she criticized his work with segregationist senators and highlighted his fight against bus transportation to desegregated schools decades ago. .
The pushback against Harris apparently became so strong that Biden felt the need to defend herself during his July 28 press conference, where an Associated Press photo captured the talking points about her on his note card that “did not hold resentment” and “great help campaign. ”
Harris also benefited from a running mate who could match this turbulent moment in American history.
Many of the issues at the heart of her life’s work – including reforming criminal justice, improving health care for black Americans, and addressing income inequality – have come to the fore in the three-sided crisis America is now facing. : the coronavirus pandemic (which has disproportionately affected color communities), the fight against systemic racism and an economic recession.
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