Vice President Kamala Harris has deep ties to the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO - Vice President Kamala Harris has deep roots here in the Bay Area. She grew up in the East Bay and served as San Francisco's District Attorney. While she has a lot of support here in the Bay Area, she is now turning her focus to earning the support of her party and the nation.

Harris has already made history as the nation's first woman vice president. Now with President Biden's announcement he will not seek the nomination, Harris is mounting a campaign to battle Trump for the White House. The VP immediately received Biden's endorsement as soon as he made his announcement. And Monday night, she became the presumptive Democratic nominee by securing the support of enough delegates.

The vice president grew up in Berkeley in the 1970s. Childhood friend Carole Porter says she and Harris were part of the plan to better integrate schools; bussing together from the West Berkeley neighborhood where they lived. "That was predominantly where Black people lived," said Porter. "We lived with a lot of immigrants and in a very multi-racial, multicultural environment. In fact, Kamala calls me 'the other little girl on the bus.'"

Porter says she hopes the nation gets to know the woman she knows. "Kamala's always been confident," said Porter. "Confident. Smart. Thoughtful. Empathetic. Direct. Get stuff done woman who really cares about lifting people up."

The vice president also has deep roots across the Bay Bridge, having served as San Francisco's District Attorney from 2004 to 2011. She then went on to serve as California's Attorney General and as senator before joining Joe Biden as his vice president.

SEE ALSO: Trump donated to Kamala Harris' campaign in the past

Political Science Professor Jason McDaniel studies voting and urban politics with a special emphasis on race and gender issues. He says the vice president's background as a prosecutor will likely help her in the upcoming race. 

"So, I think she is well positioned in that way and I think that Democrats see that as something that might appeal to more moderate voters that give that sense of someone that is not as liberal, not as left as you might think 'she's a woman of color from California,'" said McDaniel.

McDaniel says now Harris will look for a vice president who will balance the ticket, and possibly help shore up one of the all-important battleground states. 

"That's why a lot of people are looking to the Democratic governors," said McDaniel. "Beshear of Kentucky. Shapiro of Pennsylvania. Cooper of North Carolina. All white men of varying experience. I think those are good choices, perhaps."

Less than 24 hours after President Biden stepped back and endorsed Harris, San Francisco politicians stepped up in front of City Hall ready to defend the vice president from any and all attacks. "But we know the real Kamala Harris," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. "It's our job to defend her record. It's our job to go out there and tell the story of Kamala Harris to the voters in those swing states." 

While there is little doubt California will vote for Harris if she is on the ballot in November, our political science professor says we may see her in the state for a major fundraiser, but she will likely spend most of the next three months in the battleground states. 

Featured

article

Harris has support of enough Democratic delegates to become presidential nominee: AP survey

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an Associated Press survey,