Politics & Government

5 Things To Know About Kamala Harris, Biden's VP Choice

Gov. Gavin Newsom hailed Sen. Kamala Harris as a "brilliant" choice for Joe Biden's running mate.

Joe Biden Picks Senator Kamala Harris As Running Mate
Joe Biden Picks Senator Kamala Harris As Running Mate (File Photo: mpi04/MediaPunch)

CALIFORNIA — California’s Sen. Kamala Harris made history Tuesday as the first Black woman named to a major party presidential ticket. Though she was long rumored to be the frontrunner in the race to be former Vice President Joe Biden’s choice, the official announcement was no foregone conclusion.

The announcement positions Harris, a centrist Democrat, to be the future of the party. If Biden is elected, he would be 82-years-old at the end of a four-year term, with Harris in the wings as his most likely successor in 2024. If Harris becomes vice president, her Senate seat would be vacated, and Gov. Gavin Newsom would appoint a replacement until the end of her 2022 term. While the jockeying for her seat may have already begun, Newsom and Democratic allies took a few minutes to celebrate the historic announcement Tuesday.

“Principled. Brilliant. Compassionate. Empathetic. Honest. The perfect choice for @JoeBiden. That’s @KamalaHarris,” tweeted Newsom.

Find out what's happening in Los Angeleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's name being bandied about as a potential appointee to fill Harris’s seat, making him the state's first Latino senator. However, on Tuesday he celebrated the historic significance of Harris as the vice presidential nominee.

JoeBiden has picked a real fighter for hard working families,” he tweeted. “KamalaHarris is a proven leader and a Biden-Harris ticket is historic and game-changing.”

Find out what's happening in Los Angeleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Still others celebrated the impact Harris could have in energizing women and black voters.

“It’s overdue. It’s tremendous. Kamala is not a stranger to making history so it’s poetic justice that she’d be making history here.” Angela Rye, a Democratic political strategist and former executive director for the Congressional Black Caucus told the Los Angeles Times. “Hopefully it signifies a tremendous shift in the Democratic Party by finally recognizing how important Black people, and most specifically Black women, are to the base. We don’t just mobilize the Black community but we mobilize the party overall.”

Here Are 5 Things To Know About Kamala Harris And the Historic Announcement

  1. There hasn’t been a Californian on the ticket since Ronald Reagan ran for re-election in 1984. While Reagan shaped the Republican party in his image, California has since become one of the most liberal states in the nation with a Democratic supermajority in the state capital.
  2. Harris is a first-generation American. She is the daughter of two immigrants. Her mother was born in India, and her father was born in Jamaica. Her parents were graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley when they met. Together they raised Harris in the Bay Area.
  3. Harris has a personal connection with the Biden family. As California's attorney general, she forged a friendship with Biden's son, Beau Biden, who was Delaware's attorney general at the time. Biden died of brain cancer in 2015, and Harris has often alluded to missing her friend. In her biography, she wrote that Beau Biden was a dear friend, someone she would talk with on the phone several times a day.
  4. While Harris's inclusion on the presidential ticket has been widely celebrated as a historic day for Black women, it's also the first time an Asian American has been included on a major party presidential ticket. Harris is part Asian American through her mother, a native of India.
  5. Harris was a trailblazer long before Biden chose her to be his running mate. When she was elected to represent California in the Senate in 2016, she became the first Black woman to represent the state of California in the U.S. Senate.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here