Kamala Harris began her political career as a deputy district attorney for Alameda County, California where she represented her hometown Oakland. In 2011 she made history by becoming the first-African American, first female, and first Asian American to California’s attorney general. She also became senator of California in 2017 where she is the second African-American woman to serve as senator and first Indian-American senator.
On January 21, 2019, Harris made the official announcement that she is running for president on ABC’s Good Morning America”- purposely on MLK day to signify her strong ties to the civil rights movements. Prior to her candidacy, Harris published two books- “Superheros are Everywhere” and “The Truths We Hold”. When asked about responses of the American people on her book tour, Harris responded that “those folks don’t want a wall. They want a paycheck” showing her disapproval of Trump’s immigration policy and America’s current economy which she wants to improve with the LIFT the Middle-Class Act.
Throughout her time as deputy district attorney in the 90s, Harris dealt with many cases involving gang violence, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse. As a district attorney, she helped defend the rights of the LGBTQ+ community by refusing to defend the ban of same-sex marriages in California. Her senator position was campaigned for by calling for reform on immigration and criminal justice issues, minimum wage increases, and protection of women’s reproduction rights, in which she voted against a bill that would limit abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Besides that she is also a supporter of the “College for All Act” and “Medicare for All” Bill both proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders as well as a ban on assault weapons and legalization of recreational marijuana despite her past opinions.