An overview of the many firsts achieved by Kamala Harris

As U.S citizens head to the poll tomorrow, November 5, to elect their next president, it could mark a historic day. The democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, who entered the race late, has the chance to become the first female president if she wins against former president Donald Trump. Harris is no stranger to being the first in many rooms, having broken barriers throughout her career.

Here is a look at some firsts of Harris’s career and some that might await her if she’s being elected as president.

If Harris is elected as president

1 First female president

To date, the United States has never elected a woman to the White House. Since the first presidential election in 1789, all 46 presidents have been men. Throughout Harris’s campaign, gender has not been a major talking point, focusing rather on policy than identity - unlike in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee.

2 First Black female president

In the 2008 election, Barack Obama made history as the first Black President of the United States. Kamala Harris would be the first Black woman to hold that office. Born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964, to an Indian-born mother and a Jamaican-born father, Harris and her younger sister were immersed in both Indian an African-American culture. However, it was her time at Howard University, one of the nation’s preeminent historic black colleges and universities, that she described as one of the most formative years, where she first discovered her love of politics.

3 First Asian American president

If elected, Kamala Harris would also be the first Asian-American president and the first US president with Indian descent. Harris grew up engaged with her Indian heritage for example by joining her mother on visits to India.

Title: Kamala as a child with her younger sister Maya and her mother. (Picture: kamalaharris.com)

Democratic Nomination

4 First black woman

While several women have run for president over the years, only Hillary Clinton secured the nomination of a major political party in 2016. Harris’s nomination is a first for a Black woman.

5 First democratic nominee from a western state

According to a 2019 analysis by FiveThirtyEight, Kamala Harris is the first Democratic presidential nominee from a Western state. The fact that the West didn’t have much political influence until the 20th century could be one explanation, the report says. Nevertheless, the Republican Party has nominated a Westerner for president eight times, the report notes. The most common state for presidential nominees is New York.

Firsts as vice president

5 First female vice president

When Joe Biden took office in 2021, Kamala Harris became the first female vice president. In her victory speech, she stated that: while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities”. She was also the first Black vice president. Harris began her career as the district attorney for Alameda County and, from 2004 to 2011, for the city of San Francisco, before becoming California’s attorney general. In 2016, she successfully ran as California’s next US senator.

6 First vice president to have a “second gentlemen”

Kamala Harris role as vice president, brought another first - her husband, Douglas Emhoff, became America’s first “second gentleman” and the first male vice-presidential spouse. When Harris took office, he put aside his career as an entertainment lawyer. Should Harris win the presidency, Emhoff would become the nation’s first “first gentleman.”

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