2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is set to accept her place in the party and history during the third night of the Democratic National Convention.
The junior senator from California, 55, will be the first African American and Asian American to contest a general election as a major party’s running mate. She follows 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as the fourth woman to be named on a major ticket.
Harris, the six-year California attorney general and seven-year San Francisco district attorney, is expected to share stories from her past. She’ll also outline her and 2020 Democratic standard-bearer Joe Biden’s vision for the country’s future.
“The last time I spoke at the Democratic National Convention was in 2012. Tonight at 9 p.m. ET I’ll be back, this time accepting the nomination for Vice President of the United States,” she tweeted Wednesday.
The last time I spoke at the Democratic National Convention was in 2012.
Tonight at 9 p.m. ET I’ll be back, this time accepting the nomination for Vice President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/nTl4uXDe5n
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 19, 2020
Shortly after Biden unveiled Harris as his vice presidential pick last week, she chose the Secret Service code name “Pioneer.” On Wednesday, she’ll address the quadrennial gathering with another political trailblazer: former President Barack Obama.
Obama and Harris, both first-term senators during their initial White House forays, are often compared for their meteoric rises in national politics. They had similar upbringings, too.
His absent father was Kenyan and from a Muslim background, while his white mother and grandparents brought him up partly in Indonesia and Hawaii. She’s the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, who took the lead in raising her following her parents’ separation. She spent years of her childhood in Canada after her mother accepted a research and teaching job in Quebec.
Obama is anticipated to talk about his relationship with Biden and Harris on Wednesday, as well as the importance of voting in the fall. He spoke about the significance of the ballot box this month while eulogizing civil rights icon Georgia Rep. John Lewis.
“Joe practices the politics of hope — not a blind hope, but a hard-won faith that America is better than this, and that our best days still lie ahead of us,” Obama wrote in an email to supporters.
Actress Kerry Washington will host Wednesday’s “A More Perfect Union” program.
Aside from Harris, the night will showcase three of the Democratic Party’s most prominent women: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Clinton.
Clinton, the former secretary of state, New York senator, and first lady who vied for the presidency against Trump in the last cycle, will warn Democrats not to underestimate the incumbent ahead of Nov. 3. She’ll also expand on Biden and Harris as people, not just politicians.
