California Senator Kamala Harris is the running mate to Joe Biden, the presumptive presidential candidate of the US Democrats in the November election.
Biden announced his choice on Twitter today after weeks of wide consultations.
“I have the great honour to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate”, Joe Biden said.
“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign,” Biden said.
Kamala Devi Harris is the first African-American and and also Asian American to be picked as a running mate.
She may well be on course to make history in the United States, as the first black woman to be elected as VP, going by the countrywide sentiment against incumbent President Donald Trump.
Harris,55, is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents.
She is a battle-tested former presidential candidate and ex-prosecutor who has shown an ability to go on the attack – a valued asset for a running mate.
A first-term senator from California, she has already been heavily vetted by the media and rival campaigns.
Harris endorsed Biden after dropping out of the race.
Kamala Harris was born 20 October 1964. She is the second African American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the United States Senate.
She is also the first South Asian American woman to be chosen as the running mate of a major party’s presidential candidate.
Born in Oakland, California, Harris is a graduate of Howard University and University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
She began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office before being recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and later the City Attorney of San Francisco’s office.
In 2003, she was elected the 27th District Attorney of San Francisco, serving until 2011.
