Kamala Harris has been described as a rising star within the Democratic Party [Source: Reuters]
Democratic Senator Kamala Harris says she will run for president in the 2020 election, the eighth name to join the battle for the party’s nomination.
The California senator, who was elected in 2016, previously served as the state’s attorney general.
“I love my country,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America, adding she would “fight for the best of who we are”.
The 54-year-old, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, is described as a rising star within the party.
Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tulsi Gabbard, John Delaney and Julian Castro are among those who have also announced their intentions to run.
“The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values.
That’s why I’m running for president of the United States,” the senator said in a video posted on Twitter.
I’m running for president. Let’s do this together. Join us: https://t.co/9KwgFlgZHA pic.twitter.com/otf2ez7t1p
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 21, 2019
The 2020 Democratic presidential primary will be the first time more than one woman competes for the party’s nomination.
The race is already thought to be record-breaking, with four women candidates running national campaigns.
Securing the nomination would make Ms Harris the first African American or Indian American woman to be a major party nominee for the presidency.
At her first campaign event on Monday, at an African American university in Washington, she accused President Trump of holding Americans hostage by prolonging the partial government shutdown.
