Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, betting that her ties to the African-American community and self-branding as a “progressive prosecutor” will help propel him to the White House.
Harris, 55, who ran against Biden in the Democratic presidential primaries, becomes the first Black woman and first Asian-American on a major party presidential ticket.
Known as an aggressive campaigner, the junior senator from California has won statewide elections in the most populous U.S. state three times. She built her early career as district attorney of San Francisco and later California attorney general.
“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” Biden tweeted.
The Biden campaign pointed to the personal relationship between the two as important in his choice. Harris knew Biden’s son Beau when he was attorney general of Delaware and Harris held the same job in California.
Biden was impressed by her work on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the campaign said in a fact sheet on his decision.
“Kamala doesn’t hesitate to take on powerful people and powerful interests, and that’s exactly the kind of leader Joe wants by his side to rebuild this country and restore the soul of the nation,” the campaign said.