Indian-origin Kamala Harris nominated as US Vice President

Indian-origin Senator Kamala Devi Harris has been nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate in the US Presidential Elections coming up in 2020. She is the first-ever black woman to be nominated for this post and thus, she has created history in doing so. She has been nominated by the Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Biden.

About Kamala Devi Harris

She is a senator from California and also only the third woman to be selected as the VP candidate on a major party ticket in the country. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008 and New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro are the other two candidates who have been nominated for this prestigious post in the most developed nation on the earth. She has been one of three Asian Americans in the Senate and also the first Indian-American ever to serve in the chamber. She has donned many hats as the first of its kind such as the country district attorney, district attorney for San Francisco, etc. Her mother is of Indian origin.

Early Life of VP Candidate

Harris was born in Oakland and grew up in Berkeley. Her high school years were spent in Canada and then she attended the college at Howard University. Post that, she went to obtain the law degree from the University of California, Hastings and began a career in the Alameda District Attorney’s Office. She became the top prosecutor of San Francisco and later also became the junior senator from California.

Background

Kamala Devi Harris started as the Presidential candidate for the US Presidential elections scheduled in November 2020 but by the end of 2019, she suspended that campaign and became an ally of the present Prez candidate, Joe Biden. The reason cited was her lack of financial resources required to run and manage a campaign of that stature.

Significance of this Decision

Around 1.3 million Indian-Americans are expected to cast their votes in the Presidential elections this year with nearly 2 lakhs in battleground states like Pennsylvania and 1.25 lakhs in Michigan. In 2016 also, 77% of this vote bank voted for the Democratic Candidate, Hillary Clinton and though the US President Donald Trump has tried to win the community over, it is widely expected that they will stick to the Democratic Party only, more so after this move.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020