Harris to run for vice president - 19th August 2020

Kamala Harris has been named the Democratic party's candidate for vice president of the United States. Joe Biden, the Democrats' presidential candidate, announced Harris as his running mate against Republican Donald Trump.

Harris has Jamaican and Indian parents. She is the first black or Indian American woman to compete for a presidential role with a major party.

Joe Biden: "And this morning all across the nation, little girls woke up, especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today, today just maybe they're seeing themselves for the first time in a new way as the stuff of president and vice presidents."

Harris is used to firsts. She is the first African American, woman, and Asian American to become attorney general of California. She was also the first Indian American and second only African American woman to serve as a senator.

Harris announced in January 2019 that she would run for president, but in December 2019 she stood down. She later gave her support to Joe Biden.

Harris: "This is a moment of real consequence for America. Everything we care about, our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in, it's all on the line."

The US elections are due to take place in November 2020.