California Sen. Kamala Harris has announced that she’s running for president in 2020, looking to challenge President Donald Trump.
Harris, a first-term senator, revealed the news on ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
"I love my country, and this is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to fight for the best of who we are," she said.
In a campaign announcement video that she released on social media, the 54-year-old said that “Truth. Justice. Decency, Equality. Freedom. Democracy” are things that all Americans value, but that they’re all at risk in the next presidential election.
“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. “That’s why I’m running for President of the United States.”
Rumors of Harris running for the nation's highest office has been rampant for months, as the Democratic field for president becomes more crowded. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro have announced their bids for the White House.
Harris is looking to make history by becoming the first female president, first Black and South Asian-American to serve in the White House. The senator is biracial, her parents are immigrants from Jamaica and India.
The former attorney general of California is running on her experience on tackling issues such as sexual assault and housing. She has also proposed cutting taxes for the middle classes, overhauling immigration and the criminal justice system and enacting Medicare for all, writes NPR.
"On all of those points, I feel very confident about my ability to lead," she said on Monday. "I feel very confident about my ability to listen and to work on behalf of the American public. The American public wants a fighter, and they want someone that is going to fight like heck for them and not fight based on self-interests. I'm prepared to do that."
Harris has invited supporters to watch her officially launch her campaign in Oakland, California on Jan. 27.
