Democrat Kamala Harris is a California senator who came to office at the start of the Trump presidency and has become one of the most vocal foils for Trump's nominees through her heated questionings of them in confirmation hearings.
Key facts about Kamala Harris:
- Current position: Senator from California — 2 years served
- Age: 54
- Born: Oakland
- Undergraduate: Howard University
- Date candidacy announced: Jan. 21, 2019
- % of votes in line with Trump, per FiveThirtyEight: 17.6%
- Previous roles: California Attorney General (2011-2017), San Francisco District Attorney (2004-2011), prosecutor
- Harris has has a considerable social presence, dominating the conversation on social media.
Kamala Harris' stance on key issues:
- Green New Deal: She's among the list of 2020 hopefuls who signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill.
- Medicare for All: She co-sponsored Sen. Bernie Sanders' bill.
- Marijuana legalization: She's declared her support for legalizing marijuana at the federal level, admitting in an interview that she had smoked a joint "a long time ago." She also championed the Marijuana Justice Act, which was introduced by fellow 2020 candidate Sen. Cory Booker.
- Taxes: Last October, she introduced the LIFT the Middle Class Act which, Vox's Dylan Matthews explains, was basically an expansion of the earned income tax credit. Earlier that year, she proposed the Rent Relief Act, which would offer tax credits to help with rents.
- Sex work: Harris told The Root that she supports decriminalizing sex work, saying "we can't criminalize consensual behavior as long as no one is being harmed."
Key criticism of Kamala Harris:
- Harris has faced criticism because of cases she argued and policies she put in place as California's attorney general.
- She defended the death penalty as attorney general, despite being personally against it.
- She stayed silent on a number of criminal justice reforms championed by progressives.
- She didn't take a position on California Proposition 47, which was approved by voters, that reduced some felonies to misdemeanors.
- She opposed a bill that would've required her office to investigate police shootings.
1 fun thing about Kamala Harris:
- She is the first senator of Jamaican or Indian ancestry.
