Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Who is Kamala Harris? What to know about frontrunner to be the Democratic Party's nominee for president

Joyce Orlando, USA TODAY NETWORK
2 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris leaves Nashville, Tenn., after speaking at Fisk University on Friday, April 7, 2023. At the school she met with Justin Pearson, Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville.

Vice President Kamala Harris has gone from presumed running mate for President Joe Biden to hitting the campaign trail as the presidential frontrunner for the Democrats.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

For the last (almost) four years Harris has been Biden's right-hand woman in the Oval Office and the California native isn't unfamiliar with the presidential campaign trail either. Harris originally ran for president in 2016 but ended her bid to become Biden's running mate.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Here's everything to know about the now presumed Democrat frontrunner for the 2024 presidential race.

How do you pronounce Kamala Harris's name?

Even after almost four years as vice president, people still seem to have difficulty pronouncing Harris' name. Speakers, and her political opponents, at the Republican National Convention last week called her "Camel-a," "Kuh-MAHL-a," or "Kuh-MEL-a" — none of which are correct.

Her name is pronounced "COM-mah-la," with emphasis on the first syllable. When pronounced correctly, the vice president's name sounds like comma-la.

What has Kamala Harris done?

Before becoming the Vice President in 2016, Harris represented California in the Senate for three years and was the state’s first female attorney general.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Her time in the White House as Biden's Vice President saw her at the helm of multiple initiatives for the Biden administration related to women’s health and immigration. She has also taken more than a dozen trips abroad in her role, according to the White House.

Harris also made history as the nation’s first woman, first Black American, and first South Asian American to be elected vice president.

Where is Kamala Harris from?

The 59 year old was born in Oakland, California.

What is Kamala Harris's ethnicity?

Harris's mother is Indian and her father is Jamaican. If she is elected, she will become the country's first woman and first person of South East Asian descent to become president.

Advertisement
Advertisement

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who is Kamala Harris? What to know about leading Democratic nominee

Advertisement
Advertisement