Biden taps Harris as running mate
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role Black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump.
In choosing Ms. Harris, Mr. Biden is embracing a former rival from the Democratic primary who is familiar with the unique rigor of a national campaign. The 55-yearold first-term senator, who is also of South Asian descent, is one of the party’s most prominent figures. She quickly became a top contender for the No. 2 spot after her mate at an event Wednesday near his home in Wilmington, Del.
In announcing the pick, Mr. Biden called Ms. Harris a “fearless fighter for the little guy and one of the country’s finest public servants.” She said Biden would “unify the American people” and “build an America that lives up to our ideals.”
Ms. Harris joins Mr. Biden at a moment of unprecedented national crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 160,000 people in the U.S., far more than the toll experienced in other countries. Business closures and disruptions resulting from the pandemic have caused severe economic problems. Unrest, meanwhile, has emerged across the country as Americans protest racism and police brutality.
Mr. Trump’s uneven handling of the crises has given Mr. Biden an opening, and he enters the fall campaign in strong position against the president. In adding Ms. Harris to the ticket, he can point to her relatively centrist record on issues such as health care and her background in law enforcement in the nation’s largest state.
Ms. Harris’ experience as state attorney general makes her wellequipped to listen to and stand up for those in society who are often “forgotten” by the media and political campaigns, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
She did it once — taking on the big banks and reforming the
criminal justice system as attorney general — and will do it again in the White House, Mr. Shapiro insisted.
“I think that will serve her well because she will have the kind of empathy that Biden is known for,” Mr. Shapiro said, “and I think the two of them together will bring that back to the White House and bring back a sense of concern and compassion for everyone, not just those who write the checks or get to be in the political rooms or go to Mar-a-Lago.”
The president told reporters on Tuesday he was “a little surprised” Mr. Biden picked Ms. Harris, pointing to their debate-stage disputes during the primary. Mr. Trump, who has donated to her previous campaigns, argued she was “about the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate.”
“I would have thought that Biden would have tried to stay away from that a little bit,” he said.
Ms. Harris’ record as California attorney general and district attorney in San Francisco was heavily scrutinized during the Democratic primary and turned away some liberals and younger Black voters who saw her as out of step on issues of racism in the legal system and police brutality. She declared herself a “progressive prosecutor” who backs law enforcement reforms.
Christopher Borick, director of Muhlenberg College’s Institute of Public Opinion, said Ms. Harris isn’t necessarily a “natural conduit” for the campaign to connect with more progressive communities, but although she isn’t a progressive darling, she has a strong Democratic record and solid “liberal bona fides.”
“It may not be a cozy fit [with progressives],” Mr. Borick said, “but it’s also not a completely unnatural fit.”
Mr. Borick said Ms. Harris pairs well with the former vice president and stands as a “very solid complementary pick” that diversifies the ticket on lines of age, gender and race.
She could help the campaign in Pennsylvania, Mr. Borick said.
“She’s a great asset in more urban, diverse and younger areas of the state like the southeast and within Allegheny County,” Mr. Borick said. “Those types of environments are ones where I could see Kamala Harris making lots of stops.”
Mr. Biden, who spent eight years as President Barack Obama’s vice president, has spent months weighing who would fill that same role in his White
House. He pledged in March to select a woman as his vice president, easing frustration among Democrats that the presidential race would center on two white men in their 70s.
Mr. Biden’s search was expansive, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive; Florida Rep. Val Demings, whose impeachment criticism of Mr. Trump won party plaudits; California Rep. Karen Bass, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus; former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice; and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, whose passionate response to unrest in her city garnered national attention.
A woman has never served as president or vice president in the United States. Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016. Two women have been nominated as running mates on major party tickets: Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Republican Sarah Palin in 2008. Their parties lost in the general election.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said in a statement that in the Senate, Ms. Harris has “been a leader on efforts to help working families make ends meet and reform policing in America.”
“As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she’s held the Trump administration accountable,” Mr. Casey said. “I know she will fight for Pennsylvania families and jobs as vice president.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf called Ms. Harris a “remarkable leader” who has battled against corporate interests while sticking up for working families.
“She has always worked to lift up the middle class by fighting for quality affordable health care, better wages for workers and more educational opportunities for our children,” Mr. Wolf said in a statement. “Together, Kamala and Joe have what it takes to defeat Donald Trump and Mike Pence so we can finally begin the long journey of putting our country back on track.”
The vice presidential pick carries increased significance this year. If elected, Mr. Biden would be 78 when inaugurated in January, the oldest man to ever assume the presidency. He’s spoken of himself as a transitional figure and hasn’t fully committed to seeking a second term in 2024.
Ms. Harris, born in 1964 to a Jamaican father and Indian mother, spent much of her formative years in Berkeley, Calif. She has often spoken of the deep bond she shared with her mother, whom she has called her single biggest influence.
Pennsylvania Republicans echoed criticisms of Ms. Harris in the wake of the Tuesday announcement, with the Allegheny County party tweeting that Ms. Harris is “the same woman who said she couldn’t ride a bus due to [Mr. Biden’s] policies.”
“Only in today’s Democratic Party,” the county party quipped.
The Trump campaign picked up on it, too, calling Ms. Harris “Phony Kamala” in an email and deeming her someone who will “abandon her own morals, as well as try to bury her record as a prosecutor” to appease “extremists” in the Democratic Party.