President Joe Biden is currently grappling with the decision to step down from his bid for re-election. If he does, Vice President Kamala Harris could potentially become the Democratic nominee. However, there are differing opinions among Democrats regarding Harris's ability to win the presidency in November. Some argue that she would face attacks from Republicans on her work at the southern border and express concerns about potential harm coming to her due to past attempts on former President Donald Trump's life.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, Kamala Harris is the first woman to serve as US vice president. Her parents were highly respected in their fields - her mother as a breast cancer scientist and father an economics professor. Divorced when she was seven, Harris was raised with her sister Maya by their mother in Berkeley. Her interest in law grew from attending civil rights marches with her parents while in a stroller.
Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California Hastings College of Law. She began her career as a deputy district attorney specializing in prosecuting child sexual assault cases, homicide, and robbery cases between 1990 and 1998. She was later named managing attorney of a criminal unit at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office before becoming head of the San Francisco City Attorney's Division on Families and Children.
First female district attorney for San Francisco in 2004, Harris's conviction rate in the city jumped from 52% to 67% during her first three years. She served as California Attorney General from 2011 to 2017 and won the US Senate race in California, gaining national attention for her forensic questioning of Trump administration officials including Jeff Sessions and Brett Kavanaugh.
In January 2019, Harris launched her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination with the slogan 'Kamala Harris for the People.' However, she dropped out of the race in December 2019 due to lack of finances. She was later selected as Joe Biden's running mate in August 2021 and became the first black female running mate for major parties and highest-ranking woman ever to serve in American government.
Rallied for abortion rights, Harris has focused on tackling the immigration crisis on the US-Mexico border. Some Democrats argue that denying her the nomination would be sexist and racist, while others worry that she may not win in November and hope for a competition to surface a broader appeal nominee.
