Who is Kamala Harris? US VP and Joe Biden's 2024 Presidential nominee

Joe Biden ends re-election campaign, endorses Kamala Harris for 2024 Presidential bid. Here's everything you need to know about Harris, her Indian heritage, background, and political stance

US Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, has been endorsed by President Joe Biden to replace him as the Democratic candidate for the 2024 United States presidential election. President Biden announced the end of his re-election campaign on Sunday, citing concerns from fellow Democrats about his mental acuity and ability to defeat Republican candidate former President Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris gained attention in India due to her mother’s origins. She quickly became dubbed as the first Indian-origin vice president of the United States. Harris’ father, who is Jamaican American, meant that Harris was also the first person of colour, South East Asian, and woman to hold this position in the US.

 

Following the endorsement, Harris expressed her gratitude on social media, stating, “On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country... I am honoured to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”

In another post, she pledged to unite the Democratic Party and the nation to defeat Trump’s “extreme Project 2025 agenda”.

Here is a closer look at Kamala Harris, her background, education, and political agenda for the 2024 US presidential race.

Who is Kamala Harris?

Born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, Kamala Harris's background is deeply rooted in civil rights activism.

Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a breast cancer scientist from India, and her father, Donald J Harris, is a Jamaican American professor emeritus of economics at Stanford University. Both parents were active in the civil rights movement, shaping Harris’s commitment to social justice.

“My mother would look at me and she’d say, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last,’” Kamala Harris said in a speech in 2019.
 

She married lawyer Douglas Emhoff in 2014, and they have a blended family with two children, Ella and Cole.

Kamala Harris: Political career

Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of Law. In 2004, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco, where she became a national leader in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
 

In 2010, Harris was elected attorney general of California, which included overseeing the largest state justice department in the country and securing significant settlements for Californians affected by foreclosure and fraudulent educational practices.
 

Her political journey started in 2017, when she was sworn into the US Senate. Here she championed legislation addressing hunger, rent relief, maternal health care, small business support, infrastructure revitalisation, and climate crisis mitigation.
 

In 2021, Harris made history by becoming the first woman, the first person of colour, and the first South Asian American to hold the position of vice president in the United States.  As vice president, she has advocated for women’s reproductive rights, gun violence prevention, voting rights, and environmental protection. Harris, alongside President Joe Biden, worked to reverse several Trump-era laws.
 

Kamala Harris also set a record for the most tie-breaking votes cast by a vice president in the US Senate, surpassing a nearly 200-year-old record, according to her White House profile.

Kamala Harris’ stance on foreign policy

Kamala Harris initially struggled with her role, but eventually elevated her profile in the second half of Biden's presidency, particularly on foreign policy issues. She has made significant speeches and trips to solidify US alliances and counter China's influence, especially in Asia. Harris has maintained Biden’s stance on confronting China while seeking cooperation where possible.

Her engagements have included criticising China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and strengthening ties with Japan and South Korea. Despite occasional verbal mistakes, she has shown enthusiasm for promoting US interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

Harris has also addressed the Israel-Palestinian conflict, showing strong support for Israel while at times being more critical than Biden. Analysts believe she might take a stronger rhetorical stance on Israel but not significantly shift US policy. She is expected to be firm on Iran’s nuclear threat, maintaining a tough stance unless Iran shows signs of making concessions.
 

Overall, Harris’s foreign policy approach is seen as aligned with Biden’s, focusing on strengthening alliances, countering China, and addressing ongoing conflicts in West Asia.

Kamala Harris on Big Tech

As California attorney general, Harris sued eBay in 2012 over anti-competitive hiring practices, resulting in a nearly $4 million settlement in 2014. In 2015, she further compelled startup Houzz to hire a chief privacy officer after allegations of improperly recorded sales calls.
 

Harris has also led a campaign against the distribution of pornography on social media, particularly ‘revenge porn’, pressuring companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft to take action.

“I cannot emphasise enough how leaders in technology have stepped up,” Harris had said at the time at a news conference.

However, Harris does have a reputation for being friendly with prominent tech executives and investors, receiving donations and support from notable figures in the tech industry, as earlier reported by Business Standard.

Kamala Harris on climate and energy

Harris’s climate and energy positions align closely with Biden’s, emphasising clean energy and environmental justice. She has a history of taking a tough stance against big oil, launching lawsuits as San Francisco's district attorney and California’s attorney general.
 

As vice president, Harris had also announced a $3 billion commitment to the Green Climate Fund and was involved in major Environmental Protection Agency policy rollouts. This will likely remain a crucial agenda in her election campaign.

Kamala Harris on artificial intelligence (AI)

Harris has been vocal about the potential dangers of AI, warning of its ‘existential’ threat in a November 2023 address. She has also engaged with tech executives, emphasising their moral obligation to guard against AI’s possible dangers.
 

As vice president, Harris backed an AI executive order from Biden aimed at stronger consumer protections against AI-generated scams and unlabelled AI-generated content.
 

Recently many US-based companies including Meta have added AI content labels to their social media sites to increase transparency on posts.

Implications for the Democratic party

Kamala Harris’s nomination marks a significant moment for the Democratic Party. Harris’s nomination also signifies a continuation of progressive policies on technology regulation, climate change, and artificial intelligence. Her diverse background and strong stance on various social issues have the potential to resonate with a wide range of voters.
 

Thousands of women of colour and the Indian American population in the US have already extended their support for Harris and her campaign.