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How Kamala Harris Found the Political Identity That Had Eluded Her

Reuters

   WASHINGTON - Months after her presidential campaign collapsed amid
   questions over her political identity, Kamala Harris suddenly and
   forcefully found her voice -- and at a fortuitous time.

   Harris, a 55-year-old U.S. senator from California, was chosen by
   Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate on
   Tuesday, making history as the first Black woman and Asian-American on
   a major presidential ticket.

   Her selection came as little surprise. With the United Statesin the
   midst ofa reckoning over its history of racial injustice, Biden had
   increasingly been pressed to select a woman of color. Harris, who
   became the Senate's second Black woman in its history when she was
   elected in 2016, was always at the top of the list.

   But Harris did anything but keep a low profile while Biden was making
   up his mind. Instead, she emerged as a fierce advocate for police
   reform and social justice - in the Senate, in the streets, and on the
   airwaves, sparring with Republicans on the Senate floor and offering
   fiery critiques of Republican President Donald Trump.

   "She has been very resolute," said Marc Morial, president of the
   National Urban League, the longstanding civil rights and social justice
   advocacy group, which has worked with Harris on reform issues. "She has
   the ability to go toe-to-toe with anybody."

   For Harris, the barrier-breaking former prosecutor and California state
   attorney general, the moment provided a clarity of purpose that was
   often absent from her failed presidential bid.

   After a strong start, Harris' campaign quickly foundered amid strategic
   somersaults. First positioning herself as a progressive in the mold of
   reformers such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Harris
   then tried to tack toward the center. Her position on healthcare, for
   example, became a mishmash. She dropped out in December, before a
   single vote was cast in the Democratic nominating contests.

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