United States erstwhile Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 presumptive Democratic candidate for President of the United States, has chosen California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. The formal nomination will take place during the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention next week.
Harris, who after a promising start, suspended her own campaign for the presidency in December 2019, was part of Biden’s short list of potential Black women nominees. The California Democrat has been the front-runner of Biden’s possible picks for the seat of vice presidency, which also included former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and California Representative Karen Bass.
As the former California state attorney and former San Francisco district attorney, Harris has a prosecutorial work history that often forced her to defend her past decisions with law enforcement, especially to the Black community. In her role as a Senator, Harris has been a stalwart proponent for women, people of color, and children’s rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has pushed for the continuation of monthly stipends to ensure working class families maintain a lifestyle with basic necessities like food and shelter.
Standing in the shadow of Representative Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and to win the Democratic nomination for President, Harris will be a formidable partner to Biden, even though the two have previously bumped heads during the first Democratic debate in June 2019. Harris bombarded Biden with his past voting record on using busing as a way to desegregate schools and held his feet to the fire on his association with segregationist senators.
The two have since mended any rifts and must now prepare for what will likely be an epic battle against the designs of the GOP to ensure another four years of Trump as president. Harris, 55, is no stranger to Republican assaults and will not easily back down. She has blamed the President for a complete disregard and lack of leadership which have led to “disastrous results” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview in July on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Harris expressed her thoughts about being considered for the VP spot.
“I’d be honored if asked, and I’m honored to be a part of the conversation,” she said. “But honestly, let me just tell you something: I will do everything in my power, wherever I am, to help Joe Biden win.”
Shortly after Biden’s announcement, former President Barack Obama said that the former vice president “nailed this decision.”
“By choosing Senator Kamala Harris as America’s next vice president, he’s underscored his own judgement and character,” Obama said in a statement.
