Biden chooses Kamala Harris as his 2020 running mate
Blade news services
Tue, 11 Aug 2020 17:02:29 GMT
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WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Trump.
In choosing Ms. Harris, Mr. Biden is embracing a former rival from the Democratic primary who is familiar with the unique rigor of a national campaign. Born to a Jamaican father and Indian mother, the 55-year-old first-term senator is one of the party’s most prominent figures. She quickly became a top contender for the No. 2 spot after her own White House campaign ended.
Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I'm proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 11, 2020
In a tweet, Mr. Biden called Ms. Harris a “fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.”
“Together, with you, we’re going to beat Trump,” he said.
Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden plan to deliver remarks Wednesday near Mr. Biden’s home in Wilmington, Del.
She joins Mr. Biden in the 2020 race at a moment of unprecedented national crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 160,000 people in the United States, far more than the toll experienced in other countries. Business closures and disruptions resulting from the pandemic have caused severe economic problems. Unrest, meanwhile, has emerged across the country as Americans protest racism and police brutality.
After Tuesday’s announcement, Mr. Trump quickly tweeted a campaign ad that dismisses Ms. Harris as “phony” and says she and Mr. Biden “jointly embrace the radical left.”
“She was my No. 1 pick,” Mr. Trump said, suggesting that he had hoped to run against a ticket that included Ms. Harris. “She was my No. 1 draft pick. We’ll see how she works out.”
In adding Ms. Harris to the ticket, Mr. Biden can point to her relatively centrist record on issues such as health care and her background in law enforcement in the nation’s largest state.
Ms. Harris’ record as California attorney general and district attorney in San Francisco was heavily scrutinized during the Democratic primary and turned away some liberals and younger black voters who saw her as out of step on issues of racism in the legal system and police brutality. She tried to strike a balance on these issues, declaring herself a “progressive prosecutor” who backs law enforcement reforms.
Lucas County Democratic Party chairman Michael Ashford called Ms. Harris a strong all-around pick made even stronger by her immigrant upbringing.
“We need a voice like that, because [President] Trump ... was separating kids from their families [at the southern border],” he said. “We need a first-tier person who was born under those circumstances but was given an opportunity to be part of the American dream.”
Ohio’s Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken offered criticism of Ms. Harris.
“We knew Joe Biden’s eventual running mate would be someone with their own progressive agenda to peddle. With Kamala Harris chosen earlier today as Biden’s choice for vice president, that assumption remains true,” Ms. Timken said. “Harris has supported taxpayer-funded health care, slashing the defense budget, raising taxes, and eliminating the Electoral College — radical proposals that will be disastrous for Ohioans.”
Mr. Biden, who spent eight years as President Barack Obama’s vice president, has spent months weighing who would fill that same role in his White House. He pledged in March to select a woman as his vice president, easing frustration among Democrats that the presidential race would center on two white men in their 70s.
If elected, Mr. Biden would be 78 when he’s inaugurated in January, the oldest man to ever assume the presidency. He’s spoken of himself as a transitional figure and hasn’t fully committed to seeking a second term in 2024, should he win.
Ms. Harris won her first election in 2003 when she became San Francisco’s district attorney. In the role, she created a re-entry program for low-level drug offenders and cracked down on student truancy.
She was elected California’s attorney general in 2010, the first woman and black person to hold the job, and focused on issues including the foreclosure crisis. She declined to defend the state’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage and was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ms. Harris launched her presidential campaign in early 2019 with the slogan “Kamala Harris For the People,” a reference to her courtroom work. She was one of the highest-profile contenders in a crowded Democratic primary.
Ms. Harris has taken a tougher stand on policing since George Floyd’s killing. She co-sponsored legislation in June that would ban police from using chokeholds and no-knock warrants, set a national use-of-force standard, and create a national police misconduct registry, among other things.