On the orange stained wasteland that was Tuesday’s election there was one bright spot: the election of Kamala Harris to the United States Senate. Harris, 52, has served as California’s Attorney General since 2010 and is extremely popular in the nation’s largest state, who’s voters elevated her to the Senate Tuesday with 63% of the vote. Harris is the first Indian-American elected to the Senate, as well as the second African-American women (the first being Carolyn-Mosely Braun of Illinois).
Although Harris has not yet taken office, she is already being touted as a potential Democratic nominee for President in 2020. The reasons, which I will lay out below, are many and sound, and after reading them, I find myself in agreement. Kamala Harris is the most promising addition to the Democratic bench this cycle, and gives the party the best chance of making Donald Trump a one-term President.
1. She’s an Attorney General who’s tight with BLM
Hillary Clinton was one of the least trusted nominees in recent Presidential history. Her overblown email server, coupled with Republican’s nonstop Law and Order rhetoric, clearly had enough of an impact to persuade some voters that the cheating serial sexual assaulter was more trustworthy. She also suffered a dropoff in turnout among black voters, which may have helped cost her Ohio and Michigan. Harris, as a lifelong prosecutor who is also one of the most outspoken supporters of Black Lives Matter among the state’s Attorneys General, is a perfect antidote to both problems.
2. She was a pioneer in the fight for Marriage Equality
Upon taking office, Harris refused to defend Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage, in the courts, an action that eventually led to the ban being overturned. As a result, California legalized same-sex marriage in 2013. From same-sex marriage to criminal justice reform, Harris has shown herself to be a tireless fighter for progressive priorities.
Most importantly, however:
3. She's the perfect antidote to Donald Trump
Kamala Harris is in many ways, the anti-Donald Trump. While he sexually assaulted women, she eliminated California's massive backlog of rape kits. While he ran a scam of a college, she successfully sued the for-profit Corinthian Colleges for a record $1.1 billion. While he has spent his entire life scamming contractors and cheating, she has spent her entire life fighting for the voiceless. She is 18 years younger than Trump, a contrast that will be even more apparent after Trump has had 4 years to age in the White House. In many ways, Kamala Harris has all of the things that made Hillary Clinton appeal to me and 59 million other Americans: glass ceiling potential, a passion for policy, and a lifelong record of fighting for what she believes in, without all of the baggage that made Clinton fall just short of making history. With Kamala Harris as our nominee, we can make history in 2020, and hand Donald Trump the defeat he will so richly deserve. Watching Harris’ victory speech on Tuesday send shivers of Obama down my spine. I will leave you with the words that stuck with me and gave me hope for my party and my country “It is the very nature of this fight for civil rights and justice and equality that whatever gains we make, they will not be permanent. So we must be vigilant,” Harris said. “Do not despair. Do not be overwhelmed. Do not throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves and fight for who we are.”
Onward to 2018, and 2020. With strong heart, history at our backs, and Kamala Harris as our nominee, we can undo the damage that has been done and finally be able to say the long overdue words “Madam President”