Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has selected Kamala Harris as his running mate in the upcoming US election. She becomes the first black woman on a major presidential ticket in US history.
The California senator of Indian-Jamaican heritage had long been considered the front-runner for the vice president slot and will debate Mr. Trump’s running mate, Vice-President Mike Pence, on 7 October in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The campaign announced that Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on Wednesday afternoon on “working together to restore the soul of the nation and fight for working families to move the country forward”.
Ms. Harris tweeted after the announcement; “@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals.”
“I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief” she added.
Only two other women have been nominated as vice-presidential candidates – Sarah Palin by the Republican Party in 2008 and Geraldine Ferraro by the Democrats in 1984. Neither made it to the White House
Mr. Biden, who spent eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president, has spent months weighing who would fill that same role in his White House if he wins in November after pledging in March to select a woman as his vice president, easing frustration among Democrats that the presidential race would centre on two white men in their 70s.
He tweeted that he had “the great honour” to name Ms. Harris as his number two. He described her as “a fearless fighter for the little guy and one of the country’s finest public servants”.
He noted how she had worked closely with his late son, Beau, when she was California’s attorney general.
“I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse,” he tweeted.
“I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.”
In adding Ms. Harris to the ticket, he can point to her relatively centrist record on issues such as healthcare and her background in law enforcement in the nation’s largest state.
The former California attorney general has been urging police reform amid nationwide anti-racism protests.
Former US President Barack Obama, whom Mr. Biden served as vice president for eight years tweeted:
“She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake.
“This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing.”
Joe Biden is also by this decision, embracing a former rival from the Democratic primary who is familiar with the pressures of a national campaign.
A woman has never served as president or vice president in the United States. Mr. Biden will face President Donald Trump in the election on 3rd November.
