Senator Kamala Harris has pretty much announced her intent to run for president in the next U.S. Government election, but she will make her formal announcement during a rally in Oakland on January 27.
“I love my country,” Harris announced to the public via a teaser video on social media.
“This is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are. My entire career has been focused on keeping people safe it is probably one of the things that has motivated me more than anything else.”
Right away, Harris raised over $1 million for her campaign. According to reporters at Politico:
“The first numbers are a demonstration of early strength and serve as a way to measure initial excitement for [Harris]. Harris grew the campaign’s email list by 20 percent on Monday. Her video announcement teasing a Sunday rally in Oakland was viewed six million times and her Instagram account gained more than 100,000 new followers, the campaign said. The campaign also said it ran 25,000 Facebook ad variations.”
“Kamala Harris is for the People,” reads her campaign slogan for the 2020 election, something she says she has been throughout her entire political career. Harris has supported Medicare for all, legalization of recreational marijuana, sanctuary cities, passing a DREAM Act, lowering taxes for the working- and middle-class while raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and has disavowed most corporate donations. Earlier in her career as San Francisco District Attorney, Harris created a special Hate Crimes Unit, focusing on hate crimes against LGBT children and teens in schools. She convened a national conference to confront the “gay-transgender panic defense,” which has been used to justify violent hate crimes. Harris supports same-sex marriage in California and opposed both Proposition 22 and Proposition 8.
As U.S. Senator, Kamala introduced or co-sponsored legislation to provide sweeping tax cuts for the middle class, address the high cost of rent, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, make higher education tuition-free for the vast majority of Americans, reform the cash bail system, protect the legal rights of refugees and immigrants, and expand access to affordable, quality health care with Medicare for All.
Kamala has been a key voice in the fight to hold the Trump administration accountable, asking the tough questions on behalf of the American people. She serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Select Committee On Intelligence, and the Committee On Budget, according to her campaign website.
“When I look at this moment in time, I know that the American people need someone who is going to fight for them, who is going to see them, who will hear them, who is going to care about them, who will be concerned about their experience, who is going to put them in front of self- interest,” Harris said.
Harris began her political career in 1990, after being admitted to California’s State Bar. She served as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, from 1990 to 1998. Harris followed with a stint as District Attorney for San Francisco.
In 2010, Harris became California’s attorney general, becoming the first female of color to hold the position. During that time she tackled some of the state’s most major issues, including police and prison reform as well as the housing and financial crisis. In 2016, she seized the opportunity to do more when Barbara Boxer announced her retirement from the Senate. As a senator Harris has continuously been a voice against President Donald Trump’s policies, calling his inauguration speech “dark.” In early February 2017, Harris spoke in opposition to Trump’s cabinet picks Betsy DeVos, for Secretary of Education, and Jeff Sessions, for United States Attorney General. Later that month, in her first speech on the senate floor, Harris spent 12 minutes critiquing Trump’s immigration policies. In early March, Harris called on Attorney General Sessions to resign, after it was reported that Sessions spoke twice with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. On March 14, Harris claimed repealing the Affordable Care Act would send the message of health care’s being a “privilege” rather than a “civil right.”
Born in Oakland, Kamala Harris is a graduate of Howard University. She earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Those wishing to donate to her campaign should visit www.kamalaharris.org.
