Indian-American politician Kamala Harris, a California senator and former state attorney general, on Tuesday announced that she is dropping out from the Democratic presidential candidacy race after months of low poll numbers. Her decision was also triggered by a series of missteps that crippled her campaign. Harris was looking forward to becoming the first woman of color to win a major party’s presidential nomination.
Stating financial instability as the reason, Harris said, “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.” She also wrote that she lacked the funds needed to fully finance a competitive campaign, adding, “But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight,” NY Times reported.
Earlier in January this year, Harris announced that she is running for president, looking to challenge Donald Trump in 2020. Harris began her campaign focusing on progressive deliverable change, and early on, was seen as a strong challenger to Trump's presidency.
Key Takeaways
- Kamala Harris dropped her US presidential campaign on Tuesday, stating that she failed to raise sufficient funds.
- "My campaign for president simply doesn't have the financial resources we need to continue. I'm not a billionaire. I can't fund my own campaign," the 55-year-old Californian told supporters
- Harris is only the second black woman elected to the US Senate.
Stating financial instability as the reason, Harris said, “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”
To keep up with the campaign as a self-funded candidate Harris said she would have needed to raise $5 million in two weeks which was nearly impossible. In her announcement Tuesday, Harris said that she is likely to become an option for the party’s vice-presidential nomination.“Although I’m no longer running for president,” she said, “I will do everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump and fight for the future of our country and the best of who we are.”
A sharp Trump critic Harris has been calling him out for his impeachment. When he tweeted about Harris not running for the president, "Too bad. We will miss you," Harris quickly replied, "Don't worry, Mr. President. I'll see you at your trial."
She stood at fifth place in polling, with under four percent support, but after Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's recent entry, she further dropped down to the sixth position. "I've taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life," the 55-year-old Californian told supporters in an email. "My campaign for president simply doesn't have the financial resources we need to continue.
"I'm not a billionaire. I can't fund my own campaign."
Here are few things to know about Kamala Harris
- Harris is a first-term US senator and known for her perpetual questioning of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
- During the 2016 election, when Democrat Hillary Clinton was in the race for the White House against Republican billionaire Donald Trump, Harris became California state’s first US senator. She became only the second Black woman in history to serve in the United States Senate.
- Harris served two terms as district attorney of San Francisco (2004-2011), before being elected as attorney general of California (2011-2017), the first woman of colour to do so.
- In 2017, the former prosecutor was sworn in as California’s youngest US senator.
Also Read: What the world is doing to increase women’s political participation
- According to her staff, Harris’ campaign’s logo is inspired by the logo of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to run for president for a major party 47 years ago.
- Daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, Harris' campaign slogan, “For the People”, echoed on the rising cost of living for middle-class Americans. She was expected to capitalise on her party’s growing diversity.
“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 had said in a video posted on Twitter.
- After securing the nomination, Harris became the first African-American or Indian-American woman to be a major party nominee for the presidency.
- Harris is from California and has been compared to former President Barack Obama, who also ran for president just two years after entering the Senate.
Feature Image Credit: nbcnews.com
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