Joe Biden selects Kamala Harris as his running mate [View all]

[George II]

Source: MSNBC

Aug. 11, 2020, 4:15 PM EDT
By Deepa Shivaram

Joe Biden has chosen Kamala Harris, the prominent senator from California whose political career has included many barrier-breaking moments, as his running mate, his campaign announced on Tuesday.

The decision comes more than a year after Harris, who was also a 2020 Democratic candidate, clashed with Biden over racial issues during the first primary debate. If elected, she would be the nation’s first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.

Picking Harris, who is 55, will also provide the ticket with some generational diversity. Biden, who is 77, would be the oldest president-elect in U.S. history.

Harris, the only Black woman in the U.S. Senate, was first elected in 2016 after serving as California’s Attorney General and, before that, San Francisco District Attorney. A native of Oakland, California, and the child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris has said she was inspired to attend law school after joining civil rights protests with her parents.

"She’s been a fighter and a principled leader and I know because I’ve seen her up close and I’ve seen her in the trenches," Biden said of Harris at a virtual fundraiser in June.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/joe-biden-selects-kamala-harris-his-running-mate-n1235771