(Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday tapped Senator Kamala Harris as his choice for vice president, making her the first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket in U.S. history and providing him with a partner well suited to go on the attack against Republican President Donald Trump.
With social unrest over racial injustice rocking the country for months, Biden had been under increasing pressure to select a Black woman as his running mate. She is also the first Asian-American on a major presidential ticket.
Biden and Harris will appear together on Wednesday at an event in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the campaign said.
In Harris, a senator from California who made her own run for the White House, he gains a deeply experienced politician already battle-tested by the rigors of the 2020 presidential campaign as they head into the final stretch of the Nov. 3 election.
“I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” Biden said on Twitter.
“@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President.”
Harris, who became only the second Black U.S. senator in history when elected in 2016, will be relied on to help mobilize African-Americans, the Democratic Party’s most loyal constituency. Four years ago, the first dip in Black voter turnout in 20 years contributed to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s upset loss to Trump.
Biden, whose foundering campaign was rescued by Black voters in South Carolina’s primary in February, needs their strong support against Trump. They will be crucial in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where Trump narrowly prevailed in 2016, as well as Republican-leaning southern states like Georgia and Florida that polls show have become competitive this year.
Biden served as vice president for eight years under President Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president.
Numerous Black leaders, including several politicians who had themselves been under consideration to be Biden’s running mate, emphasized the historic import of Harris’ selection.
