Kamala Harris wants to make history

Indian American to run for U.S. Senate

Kamala Harris with Gavin Newsom and President Obama.

IF ELECTED to the U.S. Senate, California Attorney General Kamala Harris would make history as the first Indian-American in the Upper House.

The 50-year old Harris was the first to declare her intention to run for the Senate seat being vacated by long-term Sen. Barbara Boxer, who last week announced that she would not run for a fifth term.

Her mother is Indian American and her father is Jamaican American, but growing up in the diverse East Bay, she has not had problems with her mixed heritage. "I grew up in a family where I had a strong sense of my culture and who I am, and I never felt insecure about that at all," she told the Associated Press. "Slowly, perhaps…, people will start to understand the diversity of the people."

Harris, the former District Attorney of San Francisco, handily won her second term as the state's top law enforcement officer last November.

She is considered one of the up-and-coming stars for the Democrats along with former S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is California's Lt. Governor. A day before Harris declared her candidacy, Newsom said he would not run for the Senate seat. It is highly expected that he will run for governor at the end of Gov. Jerry Brown's term in four years.

"I will be a fighter for the next generation on the critical issues facing our country. I will be a fighter for middle class families who are feeling the pinch of stagnant wages and diminishing opportunity," said Harris in a statement on her campaign website. 

A good friend of President Obama, she headed up his campaign in California in 2012. Her name has been linked to several vacancies in the Obama administration, including as a Supreme Court Justice.

Within hours of her announcement, Sen. Elizabeth Warren began campaigning for Harris' Senate bid. "Kamala Harris is a smart, tough, and experienced prosecutor who has consistently stood up to Wall Street," she told her supporters via email.

"Harris demanded real accountability from the lenders," Warren wrote. "She wasn’t intimidated by the big banks. When the negotiations in the National Mortgage Settlement weren’t tough enough on the banks, Kamala took a bold move. She said that her job was to protect the people of California, not help the big banks, so she pulled out of the group negotiations and later secured $20 billion in relief for struggling California homeowners." 

Besides going after the mortgage lenders and their tactics, as attorney general, she placed an emphasis on fighting organized street gangs and their links to international activities in drug dealing and human trafficking. 

Be declaring her candidacy so early, Harris may wrap up the early endorsements from powerful Democrats like Warren. In the November election, Harris was endorsed by senior Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom and Gov. Jerry Brown.

“It’s critical Senator Boxer’s seat stays in the hands of a champion for women and families,” said Marcy Stech, spokesperson for the powerful pro-woman Emily's List.

In a heavily Democratic state, the other candidates who have expressed interest in running for the Senate include two Latino Americans, former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villariagosa and Rep. Xavier Becerra. 

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