After postponing his decision and weeks of floating names, Kamala Harris has officially been selected as presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s running mate
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, the Biden campaign announced Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and former 2020 presidential candidate, as his running mate. Biden wrote on his personal Twitter account:
“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picke @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate. 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.”
Harris is the first Black woman and Asian American to run for vice president. Harris is also the first Black woman to join a major party ticket. With these qualifications, Biden fulfilled his promise, made during one of the previous Democratic debates, to have a female running mate by his side.
Though she is only a first-term senator, Harris has quickly risen to the forefront of the modern Democrat movement, especially on her record opposing President Trump.
According to multiple news outlets, this was an attempt by the 77-year old nominee to keep the Democratic party within the moderate wing.
The past few weeks had rumors flying that the campaign was also considering Susan Rice, the former National Security Advisor to President Obama, or Karen Bass, a more radical Congresswoman from California.
This pick comes as little shock to news outlets as back on Jul. 28 of this year, Politico, both falsely and accidentally, labeled Kamala Harris as his running mate.
As a nominee, Kamala Harris’ record on criminal justice supports abolishing the death penalty, scrapping cocaine sentencing disparities and eliminating both private prisons and mandatory minimum sentencing.
As for the economy, Harris is an advocate for expanding tax benefits for the middle class, subsidizing for renters and homeowners, raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hr, and curating several months of paid leave. She also believes students shouldn’t have to take on debt and teacher pay should be increased.
On the hot button issues of abortion, gun control and immigration, the Senator falls in line with most of the left supporting few limitations, if any, on abortion, strong gun control including an assault weapons ban and tearing down the wall.
She strays from the far left as she does not support Medicare for All, but does wish to expand coverage.
Her record in Congress includes co-sponsoring the first-ever bill to make lynching a federal crime and assisting in the creation of the Democrat led police reform bill created in response to the George Floyd tragedy.
Where the Senator faces much trouble is on issues such as marijuana legalization. The Senator’s checkered past as a prosecutor has brought her backlash. Harris only began to support the legalization of marijuana as of 2018, when she began her bid for the White House. Before then, she was accused of being a hawk with regards to punishing those who used the substance.
The Senator also might be a questionable pick for the campaign because of her shining moments where she attacked Biden as a racist in favor of segregation due to his stances on school integration.
Despite those attacks, the two have publically made up and the senator even backed Biden when sexual assault allegations were brought against him, saying women have the right to be heard, but not suggesting whether or not she believed Reade.
This move, by Biden, is seen by many on the right as an attempt to cover up the multiple gafs the nominee has had recently, including calling the African American community a non-diverse group of thinkers, and telling them that if they don’t know who to vote for they “ain’t black.” Furthermore, the head of the Republican party in the White House has also already put out an attack ad video on the wishy-washy candidate.
Meanwhile, on the left, the move is being taken in multiple ways. For the most part, they don’t seem to believe she will do much. The Senator has not fully embraced any far left policies, and she also does not have a great pull on the Black vote. Many believe this choice will simply not mean anything.
Ultimately, the majority of the party seems to be uneasy about the decision. A recent poll showed that 59% of Democrats do not believe Biden will be able to complete a four-year term. If that is the case, Democrats heading to the ballot box are well aware that a vote blue is a vote for the VP and president, not for Biden.
The campaign announced that tomorrow the duo will be delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, one of Biden’s first appearances since the COVID-19 lockdowns began.
Plans have now been made for the vice presidential debate to occur on Oct. 7, at the University of Utah in Kingsbury Hall on President’s Circle around 9 p.m. E.T.