CHICAGO (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris called on Americans to join her to “chart a new way forward” as she accepted the Democratic nomination on Thursday, arguing her personal story and prosecutorial background made her uniquely qualified to protect their interests and beat Republican Donald Trump.
Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris sought to introduce herself to the American public and outline her vision for leading the nation for the next four years.
“Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” Harris said. “A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
Harris’ address in Chicago caps a whirlwind eight weeks in American politics and manifests the stunning reversal of Democratic fortunes just 75 days until Election Day. Party leaders who had publicly despaired over President Joe Biden’s candidacy after his disastrous debate against Trump, were jubilant both at the historic nature of Harris’ candidacy and their buoyed hopes for this November.
The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major party’s presidential nomination. If elected, she would become the first female U.S. president.
“America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” she said.
Harris talked about being raised primarily by her mother after her parents divorced in a small apartment in San Francisco’s East Bay, and being raised as well by friends and caregivers who were “family by love.” She also detailed a key part of her political origin story, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she was being abused by her stepfather and came to live with Harris’ family.
“That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda,” Harris said.
Outlining her career as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president,
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