US presidential election: Joe Biden picks a running mate

Democratic Presidential hopeful, Joe Biden has picked his running mate.

Biden picked Kamala Harris as his running mate, making the California senator the first Black and South Asian American woman to run on a major political party’s presidential ticket.

“I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021,” Biden wrote in an email to CNN on Tuesday.

He also made the announcement on Twitter, Biden wrote: “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.”

Harris rose to national prominence within the Democratic Party by interrogating Trump nominees during Senate hearings, from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Harris’ selection comes months after Biden committed to picking a woman to join him on the Democratic ticket.

Kamala Harris

55-year-old Harris is now the third woman to serve as a vice presidential candidate for a major political party, following Geraldine Ferraro as the Democratic vice presidential pick in 1984 and Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential pick in 2008.

Aware that his age could be a concern to some voters, Biden, 77, has said that he is “a bridge” to a new slate of Democratic leaders, and by selecting Harris, more than 20 years his junior, he has elevated a leading figure from a younger generation within the party.

According to CNN reports, after considering some 11 women for the post, he and his aides spent time on Tuesday afternoon notifying the VP candidates who he did not choose. California Rep. Karen Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was told by Biden himself that she was not the chosen one, same with Georgia Democrat, Stacey Abrams who was also informed on Tuesday that she is not Biden’s vice presidential choice.