A Brief History of Kamala Harris and Her Politics

Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic Party’s official candidate for the presidency. She clinched the nomination in a virtual roll call vote on Aug. 5 after President Joe Biden said he would not seek reelection. Harris, 59, already had strong appeal with crucial voting blocs for Democrats — as the first woman of color to serve as vice president — but her candidacy has energized the entire party. Polling suggests a much tighter race against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, than with Biden atop the ticket, and she raised more than $200 million in less than a week as a presidential contender.

In a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of swing-state voters conducted in late July, Harris was in a statistical tie with Trump — a stronger showing than Biden before he dropped out of the race. Harris wiped out Trump’s lead across many of the seven battleground states, suggesting the party’s historic gambit to change candidates is having its desired effect. Nonetheless, the race remains a toss-up.