Washington: US Vice-President Kamala Harris stands once again on the edge of history in a political career replete with milestones.
President Joe Biden’s exit from the White House race and endorsement of Kamala Harris make her the top contender for his mantle as the Democratic party’s nominee for President, which will make her the first African American woman, the first Asian American, and the first Indian American to claim and win, if she does, a major political party’s nomination for President, the highest political office in America.
Harris has already won the endorsements of President Biden, former President Bill Clinton, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Endorsements are pouring in from other Democrats, both lawmakers and party officials.
If Harris wins the nomination and goes on to win the race, the 47th US President will be the first woman President.
Harris already comes with a clutch of firsts: the first woman, the first African American, the first Asian American and the first Indian American to hold the vice-presidency of the United States.
Married to Douglas Emhoff, she is 59 years of age, considerably younger than both Biden, 81, who she hopes to succeed on the ticket, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, who is 78.
Born to a mother from India’s Tamil Nadu and father from Jamaica, Harris has been a trailblazer in US politics, cutting her teeth as a state prosecutor in California. She went on to win two terms as Attorney General of California. She ran for the US Senate in 2016 and won, the same year when Donald Trump beat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
As Senator, Harris became known for a strict and no-nonsense style of interrogating witnesses at hearings and confirmation hearings. “You’ve been speaking for almost eight hours to this committee about all sorts of things you remember,” Harris said to Brett Kavanaugh. Trump’s nominee for Supreme Court in September 2018. “How can you not remember whether or not you had a conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that law firm?” This was said with reference to former FBI Director Muller who investigated Trump campaign’s Russia links as a special prosecutor.
Harris had her sight on a higher office and became one of the first to throw her hat into the ring for the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee to take on Trump. She flamed out early as well after a debate in which she accused Biden, who was also in the race which he went on to win and win the White House, of working with US Senators known for their racism and for opposing busing of African American children to previously white schools. Biden still picked her as his running mate.
She had a rocky start as Vice President with tensions between herself and Biden’s staff. She was also given some impossible assignments that were doomed for failure such as resolving the issue of undocumented migrants coming into the US from Hondurans, El Salvador and Guatemala, known as the Northern Triangle. High rates of crime and low incomes have been the key drivers of migrants from these countries entering the US illegally. After the Supreme Court’s epic 2022 decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion, Harris emerged as the administration’s strongest and loudest voice on the issue. The backlash to the court’s decision helped the Biden administration survive a “red wave” in the mid-term election of 2022 and the issue remains top of the agenda for the Democratic party in 2024, having found traction even with women in Republican states and areas.
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