Kamala Harris’ Background: Unburdened By What Has Been

Key Facts & Toplines:

• Harris’ background as a district attorney, attorney general, U.S. Senator, and VP
• Kamala’s committed to squashing abuses of power and people
• She will protect children’s, immigrants’, LGBTQ+, women’s rights
• Progress Texas Endorses Harris for President

Kamala Harris’ Background: Unburdened by what has been

Kamala Harris’ career is distinguished by a consistent breaking of barriers, combined with a steadfast commitment to cracking down on violent abuses of power and people, while protecting vulnerable populations. You know Harris as the first female, African American, Indian American Vice President of the U.S. who helped pass vital legislation like the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act. However, there’s a lot more to learn about the context of all in which she’s lived and what came before her Vice Presidency, with her background shedding light on a lifelong dedication to civil service as a protector of your most important rights.

She began her career with degrees from Howard University and the University of California Hastings, working as as a deputy and assistant district attorney for a decade, prosecuting homicides, robberies, and sexual assault cases. The latter, protecting the rights of women and children, is a throughline constant in all of Harris’ work. This value is present in her leaving the assistant DA position in protest of a proposition that tried juvenile defendants out of juvenile courts, in her prosecutions as California AG against child sex traffickers and sexual predators, revenge porn sites, and antiabortion activists, and as a U.S. Senator in her workplace harassment bill.

As a Prosecutor: 

In 2004, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco, known for her opposition to the death penalty. There, she had a 90% conviction rate for all felony gun violations, while maintaining lower rates of prosecution and rare jail time for low-level marijuana offenses. She also implemented a recidivism prevention program geared toward young non-violent offenders to get resources like job training, substance abuse treatment, and housing. 

In 2011, she would become the California Attorney General, introducing the first-of-its-kind Homeowner Bill of Rights. This legislation took on big banks, getting $12 billion for preyed-upon homeowners, and provided some of the strongest nationwide protections against foreclosure tactics. Harris defended LGBTQ+ Californians as well, arguing that Prop 8 was unconstitutional for its labeling marriage as only between a man and woman, and has stated that although she defended the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation to dismiss transgender inmates’ requests for gender affirming surgery, that she worked to provide that medical care outside of that capacity. 

She also fought the for-profit Corinthian College that deceived students; prioritized the environment with multiple settlements from huge corporations like Chevron, BP, ARCO, Phillips 66, and ConocoPhillips; and caught flack for representing Gov. Jerry Brown in his fight against the release of prisoners in overcrowded prisons (later saying she doesn’t get to choose her clients). However, she also instituted new criminal justice reforms, conducting implicit bias trainings and transforming one of the first statewide agencies to require police officer body cameras.

As a Senator: 

Harris moved to the national scene in 2016, as a U.S. Senator for California who pledged to protect immigrants from Trump’s policies. As a child of immigrants, whose parents moved to the United States to continue their education at UC Berkeley, this issue was a top priority that she would deliver on, in her advocacy for the DREAM Act and her condemnation of Trump’s Muslim ban. 

She would later gain national attention for her questioning of Brett Kavanaugh, asking “can you think of any laws that give government the power to make decisions about the male body?” Harris further condemned abusers before Trump’s impeachment trial, sharing that nobody is above the law, voting to convict the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Top priorities for Harris as a Senator were election security, bail reform, federal legalization of cannabis, and tax and healthcare reforms.

And, in Case You Need a Reminder of What She Did in her Tenure as VP: 

She inherited a 50-50 tie in the Senate using her first two tie-breaking votes to provide life-saving stimulus relief during the pandemic and provided key diplomatic input in foreign relations duties like pulling all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Why We’re Hyped for Harris: We are not going back.

Read Our Full Endorsement Here.

Progress Texas is proud to join the millions of Democrats, Progressives, Independents, and Republican grassroots donors who demonstrated swift, united support, with a unanimous board endorsement for Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President. 

Her record stands for itself. She is a winning candidate who will staunchly advocate for the expansion of children’s, immigrants’, LGBTQ+, prisoners’, reproductive, and women’s rights, build wealth for the middle and working classes, and believes “in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.”

“Progress Texas enthusiastically endorses Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign. She is the American our country needs now — to not only stop the nightmare coming with a Project 2025 agenda, but to realize the promises of our great nation, restore our abortion rights, expand our civil rights, grow the middle class, and fight each day for all Americans,” said Executive Director Kathleen Thompson.

In one of her first campaign stops, to the AFT in Houston, Harris put it best, saying, “What kind of country do we want to live in? A country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear, and hate? The beauty of our democracy is that we each have the power to answer that question when we vote, and when we vote, we make our voices heard. So today I ask you, AFT, are you ready to make your voices heard?”

Next Steps:

• The last day to register to vote is on Mon., Oct. 7, 2024. Don’t delay, and check your registration status today!
• Visit GoVoteTexas.org for more quick FAQs, ID requirements, and election deadlines!
• College students away from home can use this handy site to review how and when to apply for their ballot by mail. The application deadline will close on Fri., Oct. 25, 2024.