Kamala Harris: US Vice President and presidential hopeful's life and career explained as election day kicks off

Harris, 60, replaced Joe Biden as candidate for the Democratic nomination after the US President stepped back from the race amid mounting pressure and discussions around his age and fitness for office. Biden put his backing behind his VP upon announcing his withdrawal from the race.

Harris is a veteran politician who made history when she became the first female vice president, as well as the first African-American and Asian-American vice president in the country’s history, when she and Biden won on the 2020 Democratic ticket. She could make history again if she was to go on to beat Donald Trump by becoming the first female president in US history.

What is Kamala Harris’ background?

Born in Oakland, California in 1964 to parents Donald J. Harris and Shyamala Gopalan, Harris would graduate from Howard University and later the University of California, Hastings College of Law. She launched her career in law, joining the district attorney’s office in Alameda County.

Harris’ success would lead her to moving to the DA’s office in San Francisco, and later the city’s attorney office. In 2010, she first ventured into politics when she ran as the attorney general for California.

When did Kamala Harris’ career in politics begin?

Harris’ attorney general campaign would prove successful, as would her re-election campaign four years later. Harris then moved to the Senate, having won California in the 2016 Senate election.

As a Senator, Harris campaigned for left-wing policies, including gun control, the legalisation of cannabis and pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants to the US. She became a notable figure within the Democratic party after toughly questioning the Trump administration during senate hearings.

Her journey to the vice presidency began in 2020. Harris initially launched her own bid for the Democratic nomination, but quickly withdrew from the race ahead of the primaries.

However, she wasn’t out of the running for a run at the White House, with Joe Biden picking the California senator as his running mate on the 2020 ticket. She beat the likes of Susan Rice, Elizabeth Warren and Gretchen Whitmer to become Biden’s vice president pick.

The pair would go on to win the 2020 election, beating Trump in controversial circumstances that saw the former president’s team accuse the Democrats and Joe Biden of “stealing” the election, claims which have been proven unfounded.

Now in 2024, Biden has endorsed Harris as a presidential candidate, saying: “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.” She will face the Democratic National Convention in August, where the party will confirm its nominee for the November election. Of her campaign, Harris said: “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

Who is Kamala Harris’ husband?

Harris dated former Speaker of the California Assembly Willie Brown in the 1990s, and later had a brief romance with talk show host Montel Williams. She would meet her husband, Doug Emhoff, in 2013 after being set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

Harris and Emhoff, an attorney in Los Angeles, married in August 2014. The politician became the step mother to Emhoff’s two children from his previous marriage to film producer Kerstin Emhoff.