Many records have been broken in this presidential election of the United States, such as the highest voter turnout — 147 million — and the flipping of traditionally Republican states that led to Biden’s comfortable victory.
In another record, Kamala Harris made history as the first Black and Asian-American woman to be elected vice president of the United States of America. She will also be the first woman to hold the office.
Some major US television networks projected their victory, based on unofficial final results, even though the incumbent president, Republican Donald Trump, vowed to continue fighting in courts.
Harris released an official statement on Twitter tweeting, “This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.”
This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.pic.twitter.com/Bb9JZpggLN
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020
A US senator from California, Kamala Harris is known for many firsts. She served as San Francisco’s first female district attorney and was California’s first woman of colour to be elected attorney general.
A Howard University graduate, she was the first major-party nominee to hold a degree from a historically Black college or university and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s oldest Black sorority.
Harris, whose mother and father emigrated from India and Jamaica, respectively, had her sights set on becoming the first woman US president when she competed against Biden and others for their party’s 2020 nomination.
She dropped out of the race last December after a campaign hurt by her wavering views on healthcare and indecision about embracing her past as a prosecutor. She has proven to be a valuable and polished stand-in, appealing especially to women, progressives and voters of color, all critical to the party’s election hopes.
Harris often bends down to speak to young girls at eye level, urging them to be themselves and aim high. Though she couldn’t hold big rallies because of the coronavirus pandemic, she drew crowds anyway.
As a vice-presidential candidate, Harris became a forceful voice for racial justice, speaking privately with Black activists nationwide and showing up to Black Lives Matter protests.
