Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign

Kamala Harris, the 49th and current vice president of the United States, announced her 2024 campaign for president on July 21, 2024, after President Joe Biden withdrew his bid for reelection and endorsed her.

Harris rose to national prominence in 2016 during her campaign for the United States Senate. She became more widely known when she became a "high-profile" candidate for the 2020 presidential primaries. She sought the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election but withdrew from the race on December 3, 2019. She endorsed Joe Biden on March 8, 2020, and was chosen by Biden to be his running mate on August 11, 2020. When Biden and Harris won the general election, she became the first female vice president of the United States.

If Harris wins the nomination, she would become the second woman in U.S. history to be nominated for president by a major political party, after Hillary Clinton in 2016. She would also become the first black woman and the first Asian-American in U.S. history to be nominated for president by a major political party.

If elected president, Harris would become the first female and first Asian-American president of the United States, as well as the second Black American president after Barack Obama. She would also become the first incumbent vice president since George H. W. Bush to be elected president, and the fourth president whose home state is California.

Background
The first presidential debate, held on June 27, 2024, sparked concerns about then-presumptive Democratic nominee and incumbent President Joe Biden's age and fitness to serve a second term. Following pressure from other Democrats, Biden withdrew from the election on July 21, 2024, and endorsed Harris as his successor.

Announcement
On July 21, 2024, Harris announced her intention to run for the Democratic nomination, and the "Biden for President" campaign committee filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to change the name of the committee to "Harris for President". Six hours after his announced withdrawal, Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue reported raising more than $30 million in the largest single-day donations tally since Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death in 2020.

Abortion
Harris supports national protections for abortion, which were reversed after Roe v. Wade (1973) was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022). Under the Biden administration, she prominently campaigned for abortion rights.

Climate change
Harris supports environmental justice, which would address the impact of climate change on lower-income areas and people of color. Under Biden, she supported his climate legislation.

Immigration
As Vice President, Harris invested $950 million USD into Central American companies to address the causes of mass migration, such as poverty. She supported a proposed bill which would close the border if too crowded and fund border patrol agents. She believes the immigration system is "broken" and needs to be fixed, and she says most Americans believe this.

NATO and Ukraine
Harris is expected and has signaled to generally follow Biden's foreign policy on NATO and Ukraine, supporting both in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

IsraelHamas war
Harris is noted to have tougher positions on Israel than Biden. She supported Israel's offensive against Hamas in the aftermath of its attack on Israel, but criticized it throughout the war because of the Gaza humanitarian crisis. She also has been noted to be more allied to progressive Democrats who oppose Israel.

China
Like Biden's administration officials, Harris has advocated for "de-risking" from Beijing, a policy that encourages reducing the economic dependence on China. She also raises the issues of Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, etc., just like any other Democrat government, with the intention of curbing China's rising power both economically and militarily. But the Chinese social medias do not look favorably on her candidacy. The Chinese public opinion believes that she will lose to Trump anyway, and considered that Harris is not familiar with China, on the contrary, Antony Blinken or Jake Sullivan is more experienced.

Polling
In election polls, Harris has been shown to perform slightly better than Biden in the general election, but still trails Trump.