Biden VP Pick: What To Know About Kamala Harris

We’re going to be seeing a lot more of Senator Kamala Harris this election season. We talk about Biden’s vice presidential pick.

Guests

Sharon Wright Austin, professor of political science at the University of Florida.

Anthony Brooks, senior political reporter for WBUR. (@anthonygbrooks)

Angela Peoples, organizer, activist and political strategist. Director of Black Womxn For. (@MsPeoples)

Joel Payne, CBS News political contributor. Democratic strategist. (@paynedc)

From The Reading List

NPR: “Harris, As Biden’s Running Mate, Says Case Against Trump Is ‘Open And Shut’” — “Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his newly named running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, made their first joint appearance Wednesday following Biden’s announcement of the selection a day earlier.”

New York Times: “In Kamala Harris, a Choice at Once Safe and Energizing” — “In naming Kamala Harris as his running mate, Joseph R. Biden Jr. made a groundbreaking decision, picking a woman of color to be vice president and, possibly, a successor in the White House someday.”

Washington Post: “What you need to know about Kamala Harris” — “Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California will join Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket, Biden announced Tuesday, ending months of speculation about who his running mate would be.”

Wall Street Journal: “Why Kamala Harris May Be a Tough Target for Republicans” — “Kamala Harris has spent her political career courting different constituencies within the Democratic Party, a balancing act that hurt her own presidential campaign but now may make her an asset as Joe Biden’s running mate.”

CNN: “How Kamala Harris’ Indian relatives helped shape her views on civil rights and civic duty” — “In 1958, Shyamala Gopalan arrived in Berkeley, California, after traveling thousands of miles from her family to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology.”

Washington Post: “Kamala Harris isn’t the first Black woman to run for VP. Meet Charlotta Bass.” — “More than half a century before Sen. Kamala D. Harris was named Joe Biden’s running mate Tuesday, another Black woman from California took the stage at a Chicago convention to make a momentous declaration.”

Wall Street Journal: “Personal Ties to Biden Could Be an Advantage in Running-Mate Race” — “Two future U.S. senators, Kamala Harris and Catherine Cortez Masto, were part of a small, tightknit group of women serving as their states’ attorneys general nearly a decade ago.”

Politico: “What you need to know about Kamala Harris” — “Kamala Harris has spent the better part of two decades in public life notching up a long list of things she was the first to achieve: the first Black woman to be elected district attorney in California history, first woman to be California’s attorney general, first Indian American senator, and now, the first Black woman and first Asian American to be picked as a vice presidential running mate on a major-party ticket.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]