WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Former Vice President Joe Biden is now projected as president-elect of the United States, according to The Associated Press and CNN counts.
That would also make Kamala Harris the next vice president. But who is Harris, exactly?
Here’s what you need to know about the VP nominee:
She endorsed Biden, her former rival, in March 2020. Months later, after Sen. Bernie Sanders had dropped out of the race, Harris was named as a potential VP pick for Biden.
US senator serving California
In 2017, Harris was sworn into the U.S. Senate, representing her home state of California and becoming the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American in Senate history, according to her Senate bio.
Harris serves on several Senate committees, including the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on the Budget.
Harris has gained attention in recent years for her actions during Senate hearings, specifically the way she questions members of the Trump administration.
Before joining the Senate, Harris served as California’s attorney general. She was the first woman and the first Black person to be elected to the position. Harris was first sworn in as AG in 2011 and was re-elected in 2014.
During her presidential campaign, Harris often touted her work as AG prosecuting transnational gangs. Those gangs exploited women and children and trafficked in guns and drugs, according to her campaign website.
She also often promotes her work of going after Wall Street banks and big corporations in her efforts to help consumers and her fight for marriage equality, citing her push to end Proposition 8 in California.
Before serving as attorney general, Harris spent seven years as the district attorney of the city and county of San Francisco. On her Senate page, Harris highlights a program she started while working as district attorney that helped first-time drug offenders earn a high school diploma and find a job.
Early life and education
Harris grew up in Oakland, California.
She attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she earned her undergraduate degree. She then earned her law degree from the University of California.
Harris lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff.
Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden invites his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) to the stage to deliver remarks on Aug.12, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be a presumptive nominee on a presidential ticket by a major party in U.S. history. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris speaks during day two of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 5, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
California Attorney General Kamala Harris briefs the media after raids were conducted on money-laundering operations in the Fashion District of Los Angeles on September 10, 2014. Police staged mass dawn raids in Los Angeles today dubbed “Operation Fashion Police,” seizing $65 million in cash and funds allegedly linked to money-laundering for Mexican drug cartels. Nine people were arrested as some 1,000 officers fanned out in the Fashion District in downtown LA, which one official called the “epicenter of narco-dollar money laundering.” AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo by MARK RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
California Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks onstage at the 2014 Variety Power of Women presented by Lifetime at Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons on October 10, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Variety)
California Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks onstage during Children’s Defense Fund – California Hosts 24th Annual Beat The Odds Awards at Book Bindery on December 4, 2014 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Children’s Defense Fund)
US Senator Kamala Harris questions US Attorney General William Barr as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on “The Justice Department’s Investigation of Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 1,2019. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Senator from California and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris looks on before speaking during a drive-in campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona on October 28, 2020. (Photo by ARIANA DREHSLER / AFP) (Photo by ARIANA DREHSLER/AFP via Getty Images)
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) wears shoes with the year 2020 on them as she makes a campaign stop at Florida International University on October 31, 2020 in Miami, Florida. Harris continues to campaign before the November 3rd election day. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and husband, Douglas Emhoff, take the stage after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spoke in Pittsburgh at a simultaneous drive-in election eve rally on November 2, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) addresses supporters during a drive-in rally on the eve of the general election on Nov. 2, 2020 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
