Listen Live
K97.5 Featured Video
CLOSE

Joe Biden‘s presidential inauguration has literally been a long time coming. The career politician first ran for president back in 1988 and now, more than three decades later, he’s finally set to take the oath of office he’s long been eyeing.

Conversely, the rise of Kamala Devi Harris from California district attorney to the U.S. Senate to becoming the first Black vice president has been nothing short of impressive, which is to say nothing of how swift it’s all been.

From the outset of Harris’ rise through the Democratic Party’s ranks, she’s been compared to Barack Obama, and it’s not just because of their shared skin color or mixed ethnic heritage. Former “Today” show host Matt Lauer was just one of the many people who dubbed Harris “the female Obama” more than a decade ago, a comparison that she humbly accepted at the time.

“There are many similar aspects between my and the President’s life,” Harris said at the time. “I’m just trying to be attorney general.”

Her inaugural term as California AG did not come without controversy, however.

Harris was firmly behind a statewide anti-truancy law that allowed California officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school. Harris smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates, but the solutions were alarmingly punitive. Championing that policy has dogged her throughout her career. She would later say she regretted the law.

Still, in 2014, Harris’ name was mentioned as a possible U.S. Attorney General replacement after Eric Holder resigned, the first hint that her brilliance would carry her well beyond California.

Two years later, Harris was considered for a potential vice presidential running mate after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic presidential nomination. There was also speculation that she was being considered as a Supreme Court nominee following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

But Harris was firmly ensconced in her own political campaign and ultimately became the second Black woman to ever be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Harris’ political career began more than 30 years ago when she was elected as the Deputy District Attorney of Alameda County, California, from 1990 to 1998. She is also the first Black and Indian woman to be attorney general in California. Notably, she was endorsed by then-Vice President Biden.

“Growing up, I watched my parents marching, shouting and fighting for justice,” Harris told HelloBeautiful in 2016. “Their participation in the civil rights movement inspired me to pursue a career as a prosecutor, speaking up for and defending the voiceless and vulnerable: children, victims of crimes, seniors and immigrants.”

She added: “In my work as California’s Attorney General, I’ve continued that commitment to equality and social justice, rejecting false choices and embracing real solutions that strengthen our communities and improve public safety.”

Keep reading to revisit some of the memorable moments from her illustrious political career that, by some estimations, still has an upward trajectory.

Making ‘Herstory’: From DA To DC, Kamala Harris’ Amazing Rise Through The Democratic Ranks  was originally published on newsone.com

1. 2010: Candidate For Calif. Attorney General

2010: Candidate For Calif. Attorney General Source:Getty

Then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris ran for California Attorney General in 2010.

Pictured: Kamala Harris appeared for a press conference in downtown Los Angeles on September 27, 2010.

2. 2010: Kamala Harris Wins California AG Election

2010: Kamala Harris Wins California AG Election Source:Getty

Kamala Harris becomes the first woman and first Black person to hold the office of California Attorney General.

Pictured: California Attorney General-elect Kamala Harris holds a press conference to discuss the hard-fought Attorney General race. The vote tally took over a month to decide the outcome, with each side leading at various times. Harris finally won with an approximately 50 thousand vote lead.

3. 2016: Kamala Harris Becomes A U.S. Senator

2016: Kamala Harris Becomes A U.S. Senator Source:Getty

Kamala Harris beat runner-up Loretta Sanchez to secure a position in the U.S. Senate in a landmark moment in which she became the first Black woman to be elected to the California Senate and only the second Black female senator in national history.

4. 2017: Opposing Jeff Sessions’ Nomination To Be U.S. AG

2017: Opposing Jeff Sessions' Nomination To Be U.S. AG Source:Getty

Harris took the Senate floor to give an invigorating and condemning speech, warning her colleagues against confirming Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for U.S. Attorney General.

“It is the belief that no matter who you are, whether young or old, rich or poor, gay or straight. Whether you’re a child from Oakland or a child of Birmingham,” Harris said in her Senate speech. “Whether you came here by plane to escape the hardships of war and torture, or by foot to build a better life. Whether you’ve been the victim of gun violence or opioid addiction. Whether you’re paid less than others doing the same work, or stopped at a red light because of the color of your skin–you deserve an Attorney General who recognizes the full human quality of all people.”

5. 2018: Kamala Harris Hints She’s Running For President

2018: Kamala Harris Hints She's Running For President Source:Getty

From appearing on talk shows like “Ellen” to increasing funding for HBCUs from $244.7 million to $279.6 million to refusing to speak at the University of California at Berkeley’s graduation ceremony due to a labor strike there, the consensus was that Harris was seemingly suggesting that she was aiming to be Madam President.

6. 2018: Introduces Bill To Legalize Marijuana

2018: Introduces Bill To Legalize Marijuana Source:Getty

Kamala Harris threw her support behind Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act as a way to achieve “restorative justice.”

7. 2018: Introduces Bill Addressing Black Maternal Health

2018: Introduces Bill Addressing Black Maternal Health Source:Getty

Harris addressed disproportionate health realities for Black women with the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies Act — also called the Maternal CARE Act — which would allow for $30 million to be used toward saving mothers’ lives.

Pictured: Sen. Kamala Harris and actress Yara Shahidi speak on stage at The United State of Women Summit 2018 in Los Angeles.

8. 2018: Senate Votes To Outlaw Lynching For The First Time In History

2018: Senate Votes To Outlaw Lynching For The First Time In History Source:Getty

Harris joined the Senate’s two other Black senators—Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Sen. Tim Scott—to introduce the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018. The U.S. Senate unanimously approved it to make mob lynching a federal civil rights crime–after almost 200 failed attempts to pass anti-lynching legislation over a century.

9. 2019: Harris Launches Her Presidential Campaign

2019: Harris Launches Her Presidential Campaign Source:Getty

Kamala Harris made her presidential bid official when she formally announced her candidacy during a rousing speech in front of thousands of fans in her hometown of Oakland, California. 

10. 2019: Kamala Harris Wins 2nd Democratic Debate

2019: Kamala Harris Wins 2nd Democratic Debate Source:Getty

Despite the impressive collective political experience that she was facing on that debate stage in Miami, it was the California senator who came across as the most presidential during the second Democratic debate