Kamala Harris emerges as top contender for Biden’s V.P. slot

Amid the nationwide protests over racism and police brutality, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris may have found the powerful and lasting moment that eluded her failed presidential bid but could now land her the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket.

Harris, the only black woman serving in the U.S. Senate, has marched in the streets and sponsored new police reform legislation on Capitol Hill. She has been a forceful proponent of sweeping social change and a fierce critic of President Donald Trump.

The 55-year-old senator from California also has become a key ally for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, poised to challenge the Republican president in the Nov. 3 U.S. election, at a time when race has been thrust to the forefront of the campaign.

With Biden, 77, facing pressure within his party to choose a black woman as his running mate, Democratic donors, strategists and those close to his campaign said in interviews they think Harris is increasingly the likely pick.

The day after Biden flew to Houston and met with the family of George Floyd, the African-American man whose death last month in Minneapolis police custody spurred the civil unrest, Harris chaired an online fundraiser that netted Biden $3.5 million.

Via Reuters