Ready to take on President Donald Trump in 2020, Senator Kamala Harris has officially announced her intention to run for the highest office in the United States. She joins an already packed list of Democrats and the most diverse cadre of candidates the party has ever recorded.
Harris, who made the announcement on ABC’s Good Morning America show last Monday, is a first time Senator who resumed office with the Trump administration in 2016.
A daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, Harris’ ancestry and background has been likened to that of former President Barrack Obama whose father migrated from Kenya.
The campaign video, which also premiered on the show, portrayed the lawmaker as a much needed ray of hope based on her strong stance on justice, decency and, most importantly, equality.
“They’re the values we as Americans cherish, and they’re all on the line now, the future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values.”
The former Californian Attorney General is set to kick off her campaign on Sunday at a rally in Oakland, California, where she was born and where she began her career in the district attorney’s office. Her campaign headquarters will, however, be located in Baltimore with another in Oakland and will be run under the slogan “For the People.”
“Let’s do this, together. Let’s claim our future. For ourselves, for our children, and for our country,” Harris said in the campaign launch advert.
The lawmaker also stated that her campaign will focus heavily on reducing the high cost of living in America using a middle-class tax credit, immigration, criminal justice reforms and provide a tactical plan to deal with the healthcare system.
Making history as the first black woman elected to represent California in the Senate, Harris has constantly tackled bills and decisions made by President Donald Trump, especially concerning the deportation of immigrants, fighting for a deal to protect immigrants who came into the country illegally as children.
Prior to the announcement, Harris embarked on a book tour to promote her latest book, focusing on her biography and her stand on various issues from immigration to the controversial Kavanaugh trial. In light of her announcement, this tour has now been billed as a startegic move by the senator to introduce her intentions to run.
While several people have congratulated the senator for announcing her bid, others have not been so welcoming. Reacting to her announcement in a statement, Michael Ahrens, spokesman for the Rebublican National Committee, said: “Kamala Harris is arguably the least vetted Democrat running for president, all she has to show for her brief time in the Senate is a radically liberal voting record.”
He also referred to the Senator as “unqualified and out-of-touch.”
Harris will have to compete with other candidates such as Maryland Congressman, Joe Delaney, New York Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren, West Virginia Senator, Richard Ojeda, Hawaiian Representative, Tulsi Gabbard and more during the democratic primaries.
