March 11, 2019
Just one month into her campaign and the Democratic senator from California, Kamala Harris, is making waves. On Jan. 22, she tied the record previously held by Bernie Sanders for the amount of campaign funds raised in the day following the announcement of a presidential campaign, receiving $1.5 million.
The former Attorney General of California has been considered a rising star within the Democratic Party. Harris gained widespread national attention in 2017 when on live television, she persistently questioned Jeff Sessions during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings.
Harris isn’t the first Democrat to announce her candidacy for the 2020 election. She follows along the path set by Democratic frontrunner Elizabeth Warren; however, as a politician and a potential president, she stands out.
When questioned on the daytime talk show “The View” by co host, Sunny Hostin, “Is this country, after what Trump has unleashed and what we have seen, ready for the first woman of color president?” Harris replied with a thought-provoking answer: “Absolutely. When people are waking up in the middle of the night with … that thought that has been weighing on them … they are not waking up thinking that thought through the lens of the party with which they’re registered to vote.”
So volatile have race relations been in America, that Harris’ comments present a meaningful deviation from the norm. Her stance has been that her race and gender should mean nothing to the Americans she’s serving for – what matters is her ability to serve. Some people would support the idea of a Harris presidency partially because she would be the first female and African American-Indian president in American history. According to the Pew Research Center the voter turnout for African-Americans dropped 6 percent once Hillary Clinton replaced Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate. Despite this general sentiment, Harris’ statements suggest looking past these social cleavages altogether and recognising all Americans, regardless of race, as people simply trying to live their lives.
While appearing moderate on this social issue, Harris also has supported policy initiatives that reflect the more progressive factions within the Democratic Party. She has backed Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill, supported the idea for tuition-free four year public college, and believes in the abolishment of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Though these stances might seem largely endemic of the entire Democratic Party at this point in time, Kalma Harris has strong potential to be the 46th president of the United States. As a progressive with visible centrist talking points and as a racially mixed woman, she heavily appeals to what Americans will want come 2020.
Who knows what controversies and political upheavals may come to change the field of presidential candidates in the months until the primaries, but if nothing else changes, expect me to mark the name “Harris” at the next election.
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