She officially launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on President Donald Trump, saying she was "honoured" to announce her bid on a day when Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi.
During an appearance on an American news channel she announced, “I’m running for president of the United States and I’m very excited about it.” Later she also took to Twitter and wrote, "I'm running for president. Let's do this together."
In a video that her campaign posted online, she said, "The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values," she said in the video. "That's why I'm running for president of the United States."
Who is Kamala Harris?
• Kamala Harris is an Indian-origin Senator who is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India. Her mother was born in Tamil Nadu and her African-American father is from Jamaica.
• Both her parents came to the US to study and then settled there. Their parents divorced later. Her sister Maya Harris was part of the Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.
• Harris, who is the first Indian-origin US Senator and first black Senator from California, is the fourth Democratic woman leader to enter the presidential race.
• Harris, 54, enters the race with the potential advantage of being the Democratic candidate who looks most like the party's increasingly diverse base of young, female and minority voters.
• A rising party star and vocal critic of President Trump, Harris, is the fourth Democrat to join the battle for the party's nomination in the 2020 election.
• Harris was elected as the US Senator from California only two years ago, during which she had made a national presence for her taking a tough stand against President Trump and his policies.
Explaining the significance of announcing her presidential bid on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Harris said the icon of American civil rights movement, who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, has always inspired her. "The thing about Dr King that always inspires me is that he was aspirational. He was aspirational like our country is aspirational. We know that we've not yet reached those ideals. But our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals," she said.
"So today, the day we celebrate Dr King, is a very special day for all of us as Americans and I'm honoured to be able to make my announcement on the day we commemorate him," said Harris.
Besides Harris, the others being Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has also announced to enter the 2020 race.
It is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary race, the winner of which would grab the party's nomination and challenge President Donald Trump in the November 2020 presidential race. The Democratic primary begins early next year.
(With inputs from PTI)