BOSTON– Former Vice President and presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris of California as his vice presidential running mate. Sen. Harris, 55, is the first woman of color for this high profile position and of Indian heritage.
Harris has a uniquely American biography: Her mother was a widely respected breast cancer researcher who immigrated to the United States from India in the 1960s, reported CNBC News. Her father, Donald Harris, is an eminent economist who spent much of his career at Stanford University. Also an immigrant, Harris moved to the United States from Jamaica around the time his future wife came from India, according to CNBC.
“Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau,” tweeted Biden, referring to his late son, Beau Biden. “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.”
Harris said in her own tweet after Biden’s decision, ”@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals. I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.”
In early March, Sen. Harris had endorsed Mr. Biden as the Democratic party’s US presidential candidate, saying the country and the people “need him now more than ever”.
Sen. Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican African descent, had performed well in Democratic presidential debates but announced in December that she was pulling out.
Biden, 77, became the Democratic front runner to take on Donald Trump in November, surging ahead in polls.
