Kamala Harris Makes History as the First Woman of Color Elected Vice President of the United States | US News



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Kamala Harris became vice president-elect of the United States, the first time in history that a woman, and a woman of color, has been elected to such an office in the White House.

Joe biden he won the presidency by securing Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes on Saturday morning, after days of scrupulous scrutiny following a record turnout across the country. The victory in Pennsylvania brought Biden’s electoral college vote to 284, surpassing the 270 needed to win the White House.

Shortly after the race was called, Harris tweeted a statement and video. “This election is much more than @Joe Biden or me, ”he said. “It is about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let us begin.”

Kamala harris
(@KamalaHarris)

This choice is much more than @Joe Biden or me. It is about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let us begin.pic.twitter.com/Bb9JZpggLN


November 7, 2020

Similarly, President-elect Biden issued a statement calling for unity.

“The work ahead of us will be tough, but I promise you this: I will be a president for all Americans, whether they vote for me or not,” Biden said in a statement.

Harris, a former California senator of Indian and Jamaican descent, will also be the first mixed-race woman to serve as vice president. If she became president, she would be the first female president and the second biracial president in American history, after Barack Obama.

Women have run for president or have run before on presidential tickets from major parties, the most recent being Hillary Clinton. Carly Fiorina was named a running mate of Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential election in that year’s Republican primary before Donald Trump won the party’s nomination.

Sarah Palin was the last woman to run as a vice presidential candidate in a major party presidential bid in a general election. Palin, while governor of Alaska, was part of the 2008 presidential campaign of the late Arizona Senator John McCain.

But Harris is the first woman in US history to run with a successful presidential candidacy.

Harris herself ran for president in the 2020 Democratic primary, but struggled to gain traction on the big field and dropped out of the race months before Biden was named the party’s presidential candidate.

Along the way of the campaign, Harris has ignored questions about whether she was introspective about her heritage and race. In 2019, Harris said that she didn’t care about how to categorize herself.

Kamala Harris (center) hugs Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden after he endorsed him at a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, in March 2020.



Kamala Harris (center) hugs Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden after he endorsed him at a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, in March. Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty Images

“So much so,” Harris told the Washington Post in February 2019, “that when I first ran for office, that was one of the things that I struggled with, and that is that you are forced through that process to define yourself in a way that you fit perfectly into the compartment that other people have created. “

Harris added: “My point was: I am who I am. I’m fine with that. You may have to find out, but I agree. “

Harris was born in Oakland, California and is the son of immigrant parents. He has a sister, Maya, a lawyer and political analyst. In the election campaign, Harris rarely discussed her thoughts on her racial heritage in detail, but has regularly described her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who was born in India, as a mentor.

More details soon …



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