On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Senator Kamala Harris (D–Calif.) announced that she would enter the presidential race—just behind senators Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.). Together the three candidates have normalized what it means to be a woman in pursuit of the highest office in the land.
Harris, 54, was the first African American and first woman to become California’s attorney general. When she was elected to the Senate in 2016, she became the first South Asian American and the second African American woman ever to serve in the chamber. On the prestigious Senate Judiciary Committee (on which she serves), she's become known for her epic takedowns and incisive questions. (See her treatment of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.) And she has exhibited little patience for those who want to silence her.
If Harris wins the Democratic nomination in 2020, she will be the first African American woman to top either of the two major parties' tickets. Here we break down where Harris stands on seven high-profile issues.
Tax Cuts
The first item on Harris' to-do list if she's elected president is to pass a massive tax cut for middle-class families. Her proposal is called Livable Incomes for Families Today and would offer refundable tax credits to families. At a town hall in Iowa, Harris acknowledged that "so many families in America right now…are a $500 emergency away from complete financial catastrophe." Unlike other tax cuts, Harris' bill would allow taxpayers to receive their benefit—up to $500—on a monthly basis.
Reproductive Rights
Harris has never shied away from supporting women's reproductive rights. She's been a longtime friend of Planned Parenthood, and when the Trump administration has threatened the organization, Harris has fought back. "Planned Parenthood is a health care resource to millions of women and men across the country," she said, adding, "In Washington I will continue to defend Planned Parenthood at all costs." Her voting record also reflects her unwavering support of a woman's right to choose. Harris supports public funding for abortion services and wants to keep federal funding for family-planning clinics.
She made her stance on the issue clear when she questioned Justice Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings in September 2018. After Kavanaugh refused to directly answer questions about his views on Roe v. Wade, Harris asked him whether he knew of any laws "that the government has power to make over the male body." Point proven.
X content
Climate Change
Harris recently announced that she supports the Green New Deal. A bit of background on that: The Green New Deal, a term Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) helped popularize, would invest in clean-energy jobs and infrastructure to help boost the economy and limit carbon emissions. At a town hall Harris hosted in Iowa, she said, "Climate change is an existential threat, and we have got to deal with the reality of it." Next, she called out politicians who don't believe in global warming: "We have got to deal with the reality of the fact that there are people trying to peddle some ideas that we should deny it. They are peddling science fiction instead of what we should do, which is rely on science fact."
Criminal Justice
During her time as a prosecutor and attorney general, Harris was known for being "tough on crime." Since Harris announced her presidential bid, she's come under fire for her past stance on criminal justice—and has had to defend her record.
While serving as district attorney, Harris did have some progressive positions. She created the Back on Track program, which allowed first-time drug offenders (including dealers) to get a high school diploma and a job in lieu of jail time. She also fought to change California's "three strikes" law, which required people who committed a third felony to go to prison for 25 years to life, even if the third offense was a nonviolent crime; now the third-strike policy could only be enforced if the felony was a serious or violent crime.
However, progressives have taken issue with some of her harsher stances. For example, she enforced an antitruancy program aimed at parents of children who skipped school and threatened them with prosecution if their kids didn't attend class. When she was named attorney general, Harris' office fought to release fewer prisoners and also appealed a judge's decision that deemed the death penalty in California unconstitutional (though Harris personally opposes the death penalty).
Since Harris began her Senate campaign in 2016, she's been advocate for criminal justice reform. She's introduced a bail reform bill and another that would make lynching a federal crime, and voted in favor of the First Step Act, one of the most significant federal criminal justice reform bills in decades.
Health Care
Harris supports "Medicare for All," a form of single-payer health insurance. For a good primer on what that actually means, check out Vox's "We Read Democrats’ 8 Plans for Universal Health Care. Here’s How They Work." In December 2018, Harris wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about what her mother's death taught her about the health care system. In it she wrote, "I am so grateful my mother had Medicare, and I will fight for it to be guaranteed to all. I was among the first senators to sign on to the Medicare for All bill when it was introduced last year. There should be nothing partisan about wanting a system where health coverage and care are based not on how much money you have or where you live. We need a system with the goal of good outcomes rather than the goal of high profits. It would save countless lives, and according to recent studies, could trim as much as $5 trillion in health care costs over 10 years."
Pay Equality
Wage fairness is a hugely important issue to Harris. She's a firm believer in a $15-per-hour minimum wage. She's also a staunch advocate for equal pay between men and women.
On Equal Pay Day in 2017, Harris wrote an essay for Teen Vogue about how important it is to close the gender wage gap. She called on legislators to follow California's lead and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would require employers to prove that wage discrepancies between men and women aren't the result of gender discrimination. Harris took her call to action a step further, adding, "Equal pay is only one part of the solution."
"We should also pass a federal law to require national paid family and sick leave," she wrote. "Caring for a sick family member falls disproportionately on women, but women—especially in low-wage jobs—often cannot take time off without losing badly needed wages or risking their jobs. In the twenty-first century, women who work shouldn’t have to choose between taking care of themselves or a loved one and putting food on the table."
X content
Immigration
Harris, who dealt with the child migrant crisis as attorney general, has long championed federal action on DACA, the Obama-era program that grants legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and attended school here—which Trump tried to end in September 2017. She was the first senator to say that she wouldn't vote on a spending package if Congress didn't give protections for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers. And as Trump has tried to use the Dreamers as a pawn to secure federal dollars for his border wall, Harris has jumped to their defense. Answering a question from a Dreamer at a CNN Town Hall event, she said, "We should not be trading on your life for the sake of the political games that this President is playing in trying to vilify young people like you." Harris has also gone on the record telling supporters she would never vote for a border wall but does support border security.
Samantha Leach is an assistant editor at Glamour. Follow her on Twitter @_sleach.
