Harris framed the November election as “a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
Eight years after Hillary Clinton made history as the first woman to win a major party nomination for president, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday picked up the torch in Chicago, potentially putting her on her own historic path to finish the job.
In accepting the Democratic nomination at the United Center, Harris could become the first woman and the first Asian American to ascend to the Oval Office.
Harris framed the November election as “a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.
“On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race gender, or the language your grandma speaks, on behalf of my mother … on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another,” Harris said. “On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination.”
The former California senator and attorney general noted the unprecedented nature of taking President Joe Biden’s place atop the ticket four months ahead of the election — “but I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” she said.
That was encapsulated in her middle-class upbringing under her immigrant mother, Shyamala Harris, the nominee said to a jam-packed United Center to close out the Democratic National Convention.
“My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer,” Harris said.
“Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats — a beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers, all who tended their lawns with pride.
