Kamala Devi Harris (20 October 1964-) was Vice President of the United States from 20 January 2021 to 20 January 2025, succeeding Mike Pence and preceding J.D. Vance. She previously served as Attorney General of California from 3 January 2011 to 3 January 2017 (succeeding Jerry Brown and preceding Xavier Becerra) and as a US Senator from California from 3 January 2017 to 20 January 2021 (succeeding Barbara Boxer and preceding Alex Padilla).
Biography[]
Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California on 20 October 1964 to a Jamaican-American father and an Indian-American mother, and she graduated from Howard University and UC Hastings. She worked for the San Francisco District Attorney's office and the City Attorney's office before becoming District Attorney in 2003, holding that position until 2011. In 2010, she was elected Attorney General of California, and she won re-election in 2014. In 2016, she defeated Loretta Sanchez to fill the retired Barbara Boxer's vacant US Senate seat, and she was known for opposing Donald Trump's policies as a senator. She was a vocal proponent of gun control for her entire career, opposed the death penalty, supported abortion rights, supported environmental protection laws, and cracked down on financial crimes. She belonged to the left-wing Progressive Democrats, who followed Bernie Sanders' views more closely than those of the New Democrats. In 2019, she decided to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2020. She positioned herself as a progressive opponent of centrist frontrunner Joe Biden, calling him out for his past opposition to forced busing; however, Tulsi Gabbard was quick to criticize Harris' own record as Attorney General, including withholding vital defense evidence during death penalty cases until she was forced to release it, and overseeing record drug arrests while herself laughing while recounting her own marijuana usage. On 3 December 2019, she dropped out of the presidential race after low polling numbers. Despite their past rivalry, on 11 August 2020, Biden chose Harris to serve as his vice-presidential running mate, and she made history as the first black, South Asian or female vice-presidential candidate in US history. On 7 November 2020, the presidential election - held on 3 November - was called in Biden and Harris' favor, winning 306 electoral votes and 51.3% of the popular vote to Trump and Mike Pence's 232 electoral votes and 46.9% of the popular vote.
As Vice President, Harris cast more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, helping to pass a 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. She was also assigned to work with Mexico and Central American countries to stem irregular migration to the United States, leading to Republicans labeling her the "border czar" and blaming her for a sharp uptick in illegal border crossings. On 21 July 2024, President Biden suspended his re-election campaign a month after a poor debate performance on 27 June led to Democratic voters and leaders alike expressing concerns about his age and his capability to defeat Trump in a general election. On 5 August, Harris secured her party's nomination with the support of Biden and the Democratic National Convention's delegates, and she announced Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate a day later. During her campaign, Harris significantly moderated her political views, reversing her earlier anti-fracking and pro-immigration stances and playing up her gun ownership and her record as a prosecutor who dealt with cross-border criminal organizations and corrupt businessmen like her opponent, Donald Trump. Despite economic improvements under the Biden administrations, vast sections of the electorate (including previously Democratic-leaning demographics like Black and Hispanic men and suburban women) felt displeasure with "woke" progressivism, cancel culture, high inflation, a porous southern border, feminism, aid to Ukraine, and other issues associated with the Democratic Party, and Harris lost the 5 November 2024 presidential election to Trump with 48.3% of the vote and 226 electoral votes to Trump and his 50.1% of the vote and 312 electoral votes.
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