Kamala Harris

Kamala Devi Harris was an American politician and attorney. She was the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. She served with President Joe Biden. She made history as the first woman, first African American, and first Asian American vice president.

Harris was born in Oakland, California. She went to school at Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Before becoming vice president, she was a United States Senator from California from 2017 to 2021. She was also the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

As a senator, Harris advocated for changes like stricter gun control laws and better healthcare. She was known for asking strong questions during Senate hearings. In 2020, she became Joe Biden’s running mate, and they won the election.

As vice president, Harris helped break tie votes in the U.S. Senate. In 2024, after Biden withdrew his candidacy from the 2024 presidential election, she started her own presidential campaign. She and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, lost the election.

Early life and career

Main article: Early life and career of Kamala Harris

Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was a scientist from India. Her father, Donald Jasper Harris, came from Jamaica and was a teacher.

Kamala went to school in California and later in Montreal. She studied science and politics in college and later went to law school. She started her career working in the legal system. In 2002, she was elected as a leader in San Francisco, working to make the city safer and support programs to help young people stay in school.

Attorney general of California (2011–2017)

Kamala Harris became the first woman, African American, and South Asian American to serve as attorney general of California in 2011. She was reelected in 2014 and worked until 2017 when she joined the United States Senate.

During her time in this role, Harris focused on helping protect people’s rights. She worked to make sure big companies treated customers fairly and helped create rules to stop unfair housing practices. She also pushed for better privacy laws to keep people’s personal information safe. Harris supported changes to the justice system to help people who made mistakes get back on their feet. She also stood for fair treatment for everyone, opposing laws that limited people’s rights to marry who they loved.

U.S. senator (2017–2021)

Main article: US Senate career of Kamala Harris

Election

Main article: 2016 United States Senate election in California

Kamala Harris decided to run for the U.S. Senate after Senator Barbara Boxer said she wouldn’t run again in 2016. Harris started her campaign and became a top candidate. In California’s voting system, the top two candidates from the primary election go to the general election, no matter their party. Harris won the most votes in the primary and faced another Democrat, Loretta Sanchez, in the general election. With support from many people and leaders like President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Harris won the election with over 60% of the vote. She made history as the second Black woman and first Asian American senator in the United States.

Tenure and political positions

See also: Political positions of Kamala Harris

As a senator, Harris worked on many important issues. She pushed for stronger laws about guns, supported helping young people who came to the U.S. as children, and talked about improving healthcare and changing taxes. She became known for asking tough questions to leaders chosen by President Trump, including Jeff Sessions and Brett Kavanaugh.

2017

In 2017, Harris spoke out against a rule that made it harder for people from some countries to visit the U.S. She asked questions to leaders chosen by President Trump, like Betsy DeVos for schools and Jeff Sessions for the country’s main law enforcement job. Harris visited troops in Iraq and a refugee camp in Jordan. In December, Harris said leaders should treat everyone fairly.

2018

In 2018, Harris joined a committee that helps make laws about courts and justice. She asked questions about why children were being separated from their families at the border. Harris also asked questions during hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, who was being considered for an important court job. She worried about some things he said and voted against him. Harris also helped pass a law to stop very serious crimes.

2019

In 2019, Harris talked about making schools more fair for everyone. She supported a plan to use clean energy in the country. Harris also asked for more information after a report about problems with the 2016 election. She worried that some leaders were not telling the whole truth. Harris also asked leaders to keep helping countries in Central America.

In May 2019, Harris talked about problems with voting in some states. In July, she asked leaders to look into a sad situation with people in China. In December, she asked for a leader to be removed after some bad ideas were shared online.

2020

Before a big vote about a president, Harris spoke about fairness in the justice system. She voted to say a president should follow the same rules as everyone else. Harris worked with people from different parties on laws to help with fair pay and keeping elections safe.

2021

After being chosen as Vice President, Harris left her job as senator in January 2021. Alex Padilla took her place.

Committee assignments

While in the Senate, Harris was a member of the following committees:

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management
  • Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management
• Select Committee on Intelligence
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts
  • Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues

2020 presidential election

Presidential campaign

Kamala Harris was a strong candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. She announced her candidacy on January 21, 2019. Many people came to her first event in Oakland, California. In debates, she talked about important issues. This helped her gain support for a short time. Later, her support dropped, and she faced questions about some past decisions.

Vice presidential campaign

Main articles: Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and 2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

In 2020, after winning some important primaries, Joe Biden said he would choose a woman as his running mate. In August 2020, he announced that Kamala Harris would be his running mate. She became the first African American, the first Indian American, and the third woman chosen for this role by a major political party. After Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Harris became the vice president–elect.

Vice presidency (2021–2025)

Main article: Vice presidency of Kamala Harris

See also: Inauguration of Joe Biden and Presidency of Joe Biden

Kamala Harris became the vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021. She was the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to hold this job. In this role, she helped make decisions when the Senate was split evenly.

Harris helped pass important laws, like a big plan to support the country during hard times. She also acted as president for a short time when the main president needed a medical test.

In 2021, she worked with countries in Central America to help people who were moving to the United States. She visited Guatemala and Mexico and encouraged people not to make dangerous journeys. Her work led to new programs to help with fairness and support for women.

Harris also worked on international relationships. She met with leaders from France to improve ties and talked about topics like space cooperation. She discussed big world events, like the situation in Ukraine, and visited a space center in Maryland with the president of South Korea.

In 2023, she talked about helping Israel during a difficult time. She later called for a pause to allow help to reach people in need.

2024 presidential election

Vice-presidential campaign

In April 2023, President Joe Biden announced he would run for re-election again, and Kamala Harris was expected to stay as his running mate. After the Democratic primaries, they became the likely candidates for the 2024 presidential election. Some people worried about Biden’s age and health during his first term, especially after his performance in the first debate on June 27.

Presidential campaign

On July 21, 2024, Biden stopped his campaign and supported Harris to be the party’s candidate for president. Many important leaders, including former presidents and Congress members, also supported her. On the first day of her campaign, she collected a lot of money from many small donors. Harris became the first candidate to become the party’s nominee without running in the primaries since 1968.

By August 5, Harris officially became the candidate. She chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. On August 22, she accepted the party’s nomination at their big meeting. On September 10, she debated her opponent and was said to have done very well. After the debate, famous singer Taylor Swift supported her.

Harris lost the election to her opponent on November 5, 2024. She gave a speech the next day at Howard University. She lost by a small margin in some important states. If she had won, she would have been the first woman and first Asian American president, and the second African American president.

Post-vice presidency (2025–present)

After leaving office on January 20, 2025, Kamala Harris moved to Los Angeles with her husband. They helped provide food to people affected by a fire.

In February 2025, Harris joined a company to work on speaking and writing projects. Later that month, she received an award at a special event. In March 2025, a change was made to her safety protections.

In April 2025, Harris spoke at an event where she talked about issues important to many people. She also made a surprise appearance at a big fashion event the next week.

There was talk about Harris running for office in 2026, but she decided not to. Some people think she might run for president in 2028.

Harris wrote a book about her time during a recent election and has been traveling to talk about it. She has also supported many candidates in recent elections.

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris has been in many important elections. She worked hard to become a leader in California and then in the United States. Her story shows how people can achieve big things through voting and elections.

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris supports important rights, like letting people choose what is best for their own health and protecting people who love who they want. She also wants to make rules about guns to keep everyone safer.

She wants to help with problems caused by climate change. Harris believes in fair ways for people to become citizens. She supports helping Ukraine and Israel while working for peace.

Harris has different ideas from her president on economic matters. She suggests ways to help everyday people more. She has been a strong voice for health choices and equality. She has worked on laws to protect people from unfair treatments in court. She also supported efforts to help people in prison during difficult times.

Personal life

See also: Family of Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris dated Willie Brown, who was a leader in California and later became mayor of San Francisco, during the 1990s.

In 2013, Harris met her husband, lawyer Doug Emhoff, through a friend. They married in 2014 in Santa Barbara, California. She has two stepchildren from his earlier marriage.

Harris belongs to a church in San Francisco.

Public image

Main article: Public image of Kamala Harris

When Kamala Harris was vice president, many people did not think highly of her, and her approval ratings were very low. But after President Biden decided not to run for reelection, more people began to support her, especially Democrats.

During her time as vice president, Harris had many changes in her team, with several key staff members leaving. Some people thought this showed problems in her team, but others said it was because the work was very hard and there were other personal reasons. For much of her time in office, she had one of the lowest approval ratings ever for a vice president. However, this changed when she became the likely Democratic candidate for president in 2024, and her ratings improved.

In 2024, an old video from 2023 where Harris made a memorable comment at a White House event became very popular online. Since she started her presidential campaign, many of her statements have been shared a lot, affecting how people see her. One of her well-known traits is her loud laughter, which she says she got from her mother.

Publications

Kamala Harris has written three nonfiction books and one children's book. Her books are Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, Superheroes Are Everywhere, and 107 Days. The books share her experiences and journey.