2020: Support for Kamala grows

WASHINGTON: Democratic women of colour have spoken. Their top choice for the party’s nomination for the 2020 US election is Kamala Harris, the California senator.

Harris, who is an American of Indian and African descent, is followed by Beto O’ Rourke, a Congressman whose unsuccessful but valiant Senate run from Texas to unseat the incumbent Republican senator turned him into a star.

Former vice-president Joe Biden, and Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren were the others claiming the top five slots, in that order.

The latest survey was a straw poll conducted by She The People, an organisation that describes itself as a network of women of colour.

Nearly 90% of the respondents identified as members of the Democratic Party.

“If the Democratic Party wants to win in 2020, they must address key issues and note which candidates are appealing - or not - to the women of colour voting bloc,” the organisation said. “It’s crucial to invest in women of colour in politics because their votes will make or break the presidential campaigns.”

And Harris it is for them. The former attorney general from California has been seen as a potential candidate right from the time she grabbed national attention as a senator in 2016 - as one of five Indian-americans to make it to the US Congress.

Harris is also the first Indianamerican in US Senate and the first African-american woman senator.

Harris is expected to announce her decision to contest in 2020 after the holidays.