Sen. Kamala Harris is First Black Woman and First Asian American Vice Presidential Nominee on A Major Party Ticket

Kamala Harris (middle) pictured at a campaign event. (Photo credit: Ebony)

Posted By Jenn

Ending months of speculation, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden announced today that he has selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate. With that choice, Harris becomes the first Black woman and the first Asian American to run for the vice presidency on a major party ticket.

To paraphrase Biden during the passage of the Affordable Care Act, that’s a “big fucking deal”.

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Biden Announces Release of Campaign Staff Diversity Report at AAPI Presidential Townhall

Posted By Jenn

Former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden pledged at today’s AAPI Presidential Townhall that he would release a report on the diversity of his campaign staff. Immediately following the event, his campaign issued a report showing that more than one-third of staff (including one-third of senior staff) are people of colour, and more than half are women.

Biden has faced criticism in recent days for failing to disclose the diversity of his campaign staff despite boasting during the primary that had “the most diverse campaign staff of anybody running.” Critics have pointed out that Biden’s top advisors appear to be mostly white. As recently as a few days ago, Biden’s campaign has inexplicably refused to release its diversity numbers. With today’s announcement, Biden’s campaign reported 36% of people working in leadership roles are people of colour, and 58% are women. Biden’s campaign further noted that several senior staffers are Asian American and/or Pacific Islander, including his Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, National Voter Protection Director, Digital Chief of Staff, Director of Digital Partnership, and Surrogates Director.

Less than a day after Biden’s campaign released their diversity report, Trump’s campaign also released a report on staffer diversity. Trump reports that 52% of his campaign’s senior staffers are women, and 25% are people of colour.

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