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It’s been a milestone day for California politics, as Joe Biden chooses Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate.
Harris will be the first Californian ever on the Democratic Party’s national ticket as well as the first woman of color nominated by either party.
I was just absolutely thrilled that Kamala Harris was selected to be the vice president of the United States. I think it’s so exciting. You never want to say surprised, because I had sort of left it to Joe, thinking the vice president knows the gold standard of public service and loyalty and commitment to the issues. I figured he would make a choice that he felt very excited by. If anything, I was surprised at how excited I was, even though I was halfway expecting it. I’m very excited today and our phone lines are blowing up with women and men from the state and around the country who can’t wait to get going on Biden/Harris.
Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are coming into the convention with a very strong commitment to uniting the party. One of the things they’ve been very focused on is how to lift up a new generation of people running for public office. Kamala Harris traveled all around the country, not only when she was running for president, but before she filed and after she lost, campaigning for other people, including new people. I think her commitment to bringing new people into leadership is significantly important. When you think about what the overwhelmingly positive reaction has been, particularly in the Black community, people look at that and know this is very historic that’s coming at a time when we’re in a pandemic that is disproportionately hitting communities of color. This is at a time when we’re looking at police violence that’s also being directed disproportionately at Black and brown communities. So to have a woman representing those communities, who lived that every day and who has grown and evolved to a more progressive position on both health care and police reform over the years, I think there’s a time for progress. We feel that this is an inspired choice and we can look at her platform, but not only trust the person, but trust the process. Trust that Kamala Harris is open to change, just as Joe Biden is open to policies that reflect the new reality of today. That’s ultimately what our goal is. If you don’t agree with me today, I hope that I can convince you to agree with me tomorrow, to give me a voice in your decision-making process. I think Kamala is very open to doing that.