Who Is Kamala Harris? Joe Biden's Vice President Pick 'Not A Slam Dunk,' Expert Says
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- Who is Kamala Harris? We're delving into her politics, her disagreements with Joe Biden and what's important now for the Biden/Harris ticket.
Joe Biden Selects Sen. Kamala Harris As Vice President, Running Mate
The barriers broken by Sen. Harris began in San Francisco. In 2003, she became the first woman of color elected as district attorney for the city.
The daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, Harris then earned the same distinction, serving as California's attorney general from 2011 to 2017.
Joe Biden celebrated her time as AG as part of the tweet announcing Harris as his running mate, referencing his son. He said "she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks."
"I think the hope of the Biden campaign is certainly that it brings new voters and again enthusiasm among some voters, said Kelly Dittmar, scholar and Director of Research at the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. "She is also the second black woman to ever be elected to the U.S. Senate."
Elected to the Senate in 2017, Harris serves on four committees, where her prosecutorial experience has been put on display.
She launched her campaign for president in January of last year. While her record in law enforcement and policing was and remains a criticism among some progressives, she polled the highest she ever did immediately following her spar with Biden on the debate stage for siding with segregationists on school bussing policies earlier in his career.
Biden's support slumped in the days following but it was Harris' campaign that ended in December. She remained a top VP pick for Biden ever since.
"It's not a slam dunk," Dittmar said.
Dittmar says one thing the Biden campaign must no do is expect universal support from women and women of color simply because of his choice in a running mate.
"There is a lot of diversity among these communities and we also have to respect that when we think about the potential resonance among those groups of voters," Dittman said.
