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The announcement was bathed in symbolism: Harris chose to enter the race on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, an overt nod to the historic nature of her candidacy, and her timing was also meant to evoke Shirley Chisholm, the New York congresswoman who became the first woman to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for president 47 years ago this week.
In addition, Harris will hold her first campaign event Friday in South Carolina, where black voters are the dominant force in the Democratic primary, rather than start off by visiting Iowa and New Hampshire, the two predominantly white states that hold their nomination contests first. She will hold a kickoff rally Sunday in Oakland, California, her hometown.
Harris’ campaign must overcome criticism from progressives who believe she has lurched to the left only in recent years as preparation for a presidential campaign. She has repeatedly come under scrutiny for several “tough-on-crime” positions she took as a prosecutor in California, including defending the use of the death penalty as recently as 2015 and establishing a measure that sought to punish parents for chronically truant children.
For the first time, the Democratic presidential race now includes several high-profile women, with Harris joining two other prominent senators who have announced candidacies, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, has also said she is running, and more women could enter the race in the coming weeks.
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Harris made her announcement on “Good Morning America" and also released a video aimed at supporters and other Democrats.
“The future of our country depends on you, and millions of others, lifting our voices to fight for our American values,” Harris said in the video. She also debuted a campaign slogan that played off her background as a prosecutor: “Kamala Harris, for the people.”
“Let’s do this together: For ourselves, for our children, for our country,” she said.
Harris’ long-expected entry comes as many Democrats are eager to find new leaders and as the party grasps for a unifying message that can appeal to its increasingly progressive base and more moderate voters who have recoiled from President Donald Trump.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.