New York: The only Indian-American member of the US Senate, Kamala Devi Harris, has endorsed Joe Biden for the Democratic Party presidential nomination after she herself was in the primary contest process earlier.
It is now a two-horse race for the process, which had seen more than 20 candidates at the beginning.
After making the endorsement on March 8, five days after Super Tuesday when former vice president Joe Biden scored major victories, Harris posted a video on Twitter.
“I’ve decided that I am with great enthusiasm going to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States. I believe in Joe. I really believe in him, and I have known him for a long time,” said Harris.
It has been speculated for weeks that Harris would be the running mate of Biden if he was nominated as the Democratic torchbearer. Several moderate Democrats have backed Biden, who they think is in a better position than self-described socialist Bernie Sanders, the other major contender, to beat President Trump in the November election.
In a statement, Harris pointed out the absence of any top female candidate in the primary. “Like many women, I watched with sadness as women exited the race one by one. We find ourselves without any woman on a path to be the Democratic nominee for president,” she said.
Harris added, “This is something we must reckon with and it is something I will have more to say about in the future. But we must rise to unite the party and country behind a candidate who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people and who can ultimately defeat Donald Trump.”
Biden expressed gratitude to Harris. In a tweet, he invoked his late son Beau Biden, who served as the attorney general of Delaware when she also held the same post in California. “Kamala – you’ve spent your whole career fighting for folks who’ve been written off and left behind –and no small part of that alongside Beau. From our family, Thank You
