Joe Biden has named Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate.
“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” Biden tweeted on Tuesday. “Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”
If elected, Harris would be the first woman and first Black and Asian American person to hold the title of vice president.
“[Joe Biden] can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals,” Harris tweeted shortly after Biden’s announcement. “I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.”
The selection comes after months of speculation over who Biden would choose as his running mate, especially after he promised that his VP pick would be a woman during an appearance at the March Democratic debate. Since then, Biden’s potential VP list also included Stacey Abrams, Tammy Baldwin, Karen Bass, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Val Demings, Tammy Duckworth, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Susan Rice, Elizabeth Warren and Gretchen Whitmer. Former presidential candidate and Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar was also once a contender, but she withdrew from the search process in June and said she wanted the candidate to choose a woman of color as his vice-presidential running mate.
Next week, Harris — who ended her own presidential campaign last December — will speak at the Democratic National Convention, where Biden is expected to accept the party’s nomination.
In a tweet sent a few hours before Biden made his announcement, Harris wrote, “Black women and women of color have long been underrepresented in elected office and in November we have an opportunity to change that. Let’s get to work.”
.@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he's spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he'll build an America that lives up to our ideals.
I'm honored to join him as our party's nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 11, 2020
Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I'm proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 11, 2020