Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964. Her father was a professor emeritus at Standford University, and her mother was a biologist and cancer researcher. Harris grew up in Oakland, California, and later graduated from Howard University, with a B.A. in political science and economics in 1986, obtaining a law degree from Hastings College in 1989. After a career as a district attorney and an attorney general, Kamala was elected Senator in the U.S. Senate in 2016 as a Democrat and started representing California in her first term the next year.

Harris became known in the California political scene for her fearlessness as she tried cases of drug trafficking, gang violence, and sexual abuse as the deputy district attorney for the city of Oakland from 1990-1998. In 2004, Harris was elected to the office of District Attorney of San Francisco, and in 2010 she was elected Attorney General of California.

At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Harrus gave an unforgettable speech, bringing her political career to national attention. In 2014, Harris was still rising in popularity within the Democratic party and was convinced to run for Barbara Boxer’s U.S. Senate seat since Boxer would retire the next year. Harris agreed to run and won the 2016 election.

In 2018, Harris announced she would seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. She was highly favored along the campaign trail before dropping out of the race in December 2019. After a highly competitive start between political parties in the election year, Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate in August 2020.