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Biden picks Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate

Khabarhub

August 12, 2020

3 MIN READ

Biden picks Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate

Senator Kamala Harris (File Photo: Reuters)

WASHINGTON: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his newly named running mate Senator Kamala Harris are set to make their first joint appearance Wednesday as a team seeking to defeat President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the November general election, VOA reported.

The Biden-Harris campaign said the pair would speak in Wilmington, Delaware, about “working together to restore the soul of the nation and fight for working families to move the country forward.”

Biden officially named Harris, making her the first Black woman and South Asian American woman to be named on a major party ticket for a presidential election.

After winning enough primaries to secure the nomination earlier this year, Biden, 77, committed himself to picking a female vice presidential candidate. There was much speculation he would choose a Black woman to run with him.

A number of familiar and respected names surfaced in the press as potential running mates.

But Biden and Harris have a long friendship going back to the days when she was California attorney general at the same time Biden’s late son, Beau Biden, was attorney general in Delaware.

Harris had high praise for Biden during a campaign event several weeks ago before she was named as his running mate, according to VOA.

Who is Kamala Harris?

Born in Oakland, California on October 10, 1964, Kamala Harris received her received her law degree University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a Tamil breast cancer scientist. She had emigrated from India in 1960 to pursue her doctorate in endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kamala’s father, Donald Harris, emigrated from Jamaica in 1961 to study at UC Berkeley. He was a professor at Stanford University.

In 1998, she was hired as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco.

After two years, she joined San Francisco city government of the city attorney.

In 2003, Harris was elected district attorney against Terence Hallinan, and also served as San Francisco district attorney until 2010, when she won the race to become the state attorney general.

Kamala’s career as a prosecutor may be a boon for Joe Biden, observers say.

She was elected to the Senate in 2016 after the seat was vacated by retiring Senator Barbara Boxer.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, Kamala raised her profile by grilling Trump administration nominees such as Brett Kavanaugh. She has also worked with Republican senators on legislation.

 

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