Who is Kamala Harris? Here’s the new presidential candidate’s recent ties to Florida

Samantha Neely, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·6 min read
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Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be the leading candidate to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee in the upcoming General Election.

Shortly after President Biden announced he was dropping his bid on Sunday, Harris released a statement on her intent to seek the Democratic nomination for president.

"On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country," Harris said on an X post Sunday. "I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination."

Who is Kamala Harris?

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris speaks at the San Joaquin Valley Leadership Conference held at the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel in downtown Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/THE RECORD]
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris speaks at the San Joaquin Valley Leadership Conference held at the University Plaza Waterfront Hotel in downtown Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/THE RECORD]

Kamala Devi Harris, 59, is a former U.S. Senator from California and the state’s Attorney General. When elected with Joe Biden In 2020, she made history as the country's first female, Black and Asian-American vice president.

She was born in Oakland, California on Oct. 20, 1964. She graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

She is married to New York lawyer Douglas Emhoff and has two stepchildren, Cole and Ella.

How do you pronounce Kamala Harris' name?

Kamala Harris’ first name is pronounced “COM-mah-lah,” with the emphasis on the first syllable. It should sound like "comma-la" when said correctly. According to Harris herself, her name has Sanskrit origins and means lotus.

What is Vice President Kamala Harris' nationality?

Harris is a natural-born U.S. citizen and the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father.

According to USA TODAY, she worked to appeal to Black leaders and voters through conversations at barber shops and historically Black colleges and universities. She attended Howard University, an HBCU, and was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which mobilized behind her and could be spotted at her rallies.

Was Kamala Harris a cop? See history before becoming VP

No, Kamala Harris was never officially a cop; however, she had previously referred to herself as a "top cop." Before becoming the country's vice president and a California senator, Harris' career in the Bay Area was working as a Alameda County, California, prosecutor and later as the San Francisco district attorney in 2004.

Harris later served as California's attorney general from 2011 to 2017. According to CBS News, some of Harris' key accomplishments include reaching a multi-billion dollar deal with five U.S. banks that settled over flawed mortgage foreclosure practices, adopting a statewide body cam policy, and going up against fossil fuel companies.

Harris served in the Senate as a representative of California from 2017 to 2021.

What is Harris' approval rating?

As of Monday, July 22, Harris' average approval rating was 38.6 percent while her disapproval rating is at 50.4 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight, the opinion poll analysis website.

What ties does Kamala Harris have to Florida? See DeSantis' comments on Biden dropping out

While the current vice president has no direct ties to the Sunshine State, she has campaigned here over the years and has recently visited to denounce Gov. Ron DeSantis' policies.

She has made three trips to Jacksonville for events that highlighted a massive pandemic relief bill, rallied against how the state of Florida was teaching about Black history, and denounced tighter restrictions in Florida on access to abortion.

See Harris' stops: Kamala Harris has visited Jacksonville three times since becoming vice president

During her most recent stop in May of this year, Harris spoke against Florida's six-week abortion ban hours after it took effect and linked bans in Florida and other states to former President Donald Trump.

“Here's what a second Trump term looks like: more bans, more suffering, less freedom,” Harris said during her campaign speech on May 1 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. “But we are not going to let that happen.”

Following Harris' announcement, DeSantis released a statement on X, saying Harris was "complicit in a massive coverup to hide and deny the fact that Joe Biden was not capable of discharging duties of the office."

'It's Kammencing': See social media memes about Harris

If you've been on social media anytime these last few weeks, you might have heard iterations of the quote, "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

If you think the phrase came from a classic novel or great philosopher, think again — it was Harris. And users are obsessed with it. Since announcing her intent to seek the Democratic nomination, the internet became flooded with memes.

Users have also created memes poking fun at the Biden-Harris campaign's "Joever" joke and how they found out about the news from X's "PopCrave." Even more eagle-eyed users noted that Harris wasn't unleashing her usual laughter in interviews and press conferences, saying she "is focused."

Who has endorsed Kamala Harris for president so far?

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

Along with Biden, here which politicians and organizations have endorsed Harris, as of Monday, July 22:

Who will be Kamala Harris' vice president?

Here are some of the names reportedly under consideration:

  • Pete Buttigieg

  • Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom

  • Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

  • Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

Contributing: Karissa Waddick and Anthony DiMattia, Delaware News Journal

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Kamala Harris: See background, ties to Florida and possible VP picks