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Following President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday to drop out of the presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her intention to pursue the 2024 Democratic nomination. As Delaware quickly moves toward becoming a majority-minority state, local groups see Harris, the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American vice president as having the potential to represent people from diverse backgrounds.
Harris, a former U.S. senator from California and the state’s attorney general, is the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father. The 59-year-old Oakland native lived with her mother in Montreal, Canada, before attending Howard University, an HBCU in Washington, D.C. During her senior year, she became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. The organization was established in 1908 by 16 Black female students attending the university. The group has since grown to 300,000 members in more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate chapters worldwide.
The sorority does not endorse political candidates. However, it supports members’ running and holding public office.
As keynote speaker at the organization’s annual convention on July 10, the vice president urged the 20,000 members in attendance to turn out at the polls. After declaring her intention to secure the Democratic nomination, the group along with other Black sororities and fraternities have rallied to support her.
Locally, individual members are expressing support for Harris, including fellow AKA sorority member Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester. In a statement on Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race, Blunt Rochester declared, “There is no better person or leader more equipped to do so than Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Support from the sorority, and Black women in general, is significant. Nationally, Democrats have historically relied on Black women as key allies, as they have been a loyal voting bloc with increasing political influence. Black women have been credited with helping boost Black voter turnout in recent elections, including 2018 and the 2020 contest that Biden won.
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Harris’s background appeals to diverse communities
Other local groups also see Harris as a part of a community striving for success for themselves and their families.
Asian Americans make up 11% of Delaware’s population, with Asian Indians being the largest ethnic group among them. Palash Gupta, chair of the Delaware Commission on Indian Heritage and Culture and the Delaware Asian American Business Association, acknowledges Harris’s potential as the party’s nominee as a “proud moment for Asian Americans, especially [for someone who has] roots in India.”
While Gupta said Harris reflects the Asian Indian community as a productive member of America’s immigrant story rather than a political party representative, Asian Americans in The First State are becoming increasingly engaged in politics. From 2010 to 2020, the number of eligible AAPI voters in Delaware grew by 42%. Last June, Gupta attended a state dinner hosted by Biden and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.
Harris’s background may galvanize these groups as in past elections. Besides increased Black voter turnout mobilized by Black women, previous elections have shown notable increases from diverse populations. From 2016 to 2020, turnout among Asian American, Latino or Hispanic and non-college white voters each grew by 6 points or more. Additionally, younger progressive voters, whose turnout was crucial in previous elections, may come out to support Harris as many believe she embodies much of what the future looks like.
You can contact Anitra Johnson at ajohnson@delawareonline.com.