Let's Get To Know Our Potential Vice President, Kamala Harris...
By Claudia Langella
Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden announced his pick for running mate last week: Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator from California. As the November election quickly approaches, we thought it would be a good idea to get to know Harris a little bit better!
Harris grew up in Berkeley, California, and in 1986 she graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC with a degree in political science and economics. She completed law school at UC Hastings and then served as District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004-2011. As the city’s district attorney, Harris cracked down on crime, and even established an environmental crimes unit in her office, which went after people who strayed from environmental laws and principles in California. In 2011, she made history when she was sworn in as the first female and first African-American to serve as California’s Attorney General. She made history yet again when she was elected to the United States Congress, the first African-American woman and first South-Asian to represent the people of California. That was only in 2017—crazy, right?!
During her time as a U.S. Senator, Harris served on a number of committees, including the Committees on Intelligence, the Budget, Environment and Public Works and Homeland Security. Back in 2017 during U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ hearings on Russian interference with the 2016 election, attention was on Harris after she drilled him to which he replied made him “nervous.”
At the start of 2019 she announced her presidential campaign and was a strong candidate during debates with former vice president Joe Biden and the other Democratic hopefuls. But, by December 2019, she announced the end of her presidential campaign, citing a lack of funds for the reason she called it off. Three months later, she endorsed Joe Biden, which might have helped Biden pick Harris as a running mate.
If the Biden-Harris ticket wins in November, Senator Harris will become the first female vice president in the United States’ 244-year history. Taking part in any election is an important duty and privilege—especially an important one like this year’s. Make sure you’re registered to vote at Rock the Vote!