As a global superpower, America’s politics tend to impact the rest of the world, so it’s generally best to keep a close eye on what’s happening in the upcoming election.
This week, the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, announced his running mate and the potential future vice president of America – Kamala Harris (55).
With this announcement coinciding with our Women’s Month celebrations, we’ll take a quick look at this influential female politician.
1. She is the daughter of immigrants. Her father, Donald Harris (Jamaican), was an economics professor; and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris (Indian) was a physician and prominent breast cancer researcher.
2. As a child, she went to both a Black Baptist church and a Hindu temple—embracing both sides of her heritage.
3. Kamala Harris is the first black woman and first candidate of Asian descent to be named on a major American party ticket. She would also be the first female Vice President if elected.
4. From 2011 to 2016, Harris was the Attorney General of California, taking on her role as senator in January 2017.
5. Kamala Harris has been married to Douglas Emhoff since 2014. He is a corporate lawyer with two children from a previous marriage. They call her ‘Momala’.
6. She doesn’t appreciate comparisons with Obama, with some reporters referring to her as ‘the female Obama’. She said she’s not running to continue his legacy, but to create her own.
7. In June, her Wikipedia page was edited 408 times in three weeks, which people believed to be a sign of her nomination as running mate. The edits removed controversial information such as her ‘tough-on-crime’ record.
8. In 2019 she ran her own presidential campaign, which ended in December. However, if she does succeed in becoming the next vice president, she has another shot at becoming America’s first female president, as 14 previous vice presidents have ascended to the top position.
The 2020 United States presidential election will take place on Tuesday, November 3.
That’s when we’ll find out if Kamala Harris will be joining Joe Biden in the White House or if it’s going to be another four years of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
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