Kamala Harris Running For President In 2020

Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris announced on Monday that she is officially throwing her hat into the ring and seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020.

Amid speculation of Harris’s presidential aspirations, the California senator revealed in December she would make a decision on whether or not to launch a 2020 presidential run over the holiday season. She also acknowledged the challenges she would face while running in such a heated election and how cutthroat the presidential race might be.

“Let’s be honest, it’s going to be ugly,” Harris said at the time. “When you break things, it is painful and you get cut. And you bleed.”

Leading up to her presidential announcement, the first-term senator had been actively elevating her national profile. Harris spent more money on Facebook ads during the summer than any other senator despite not being up for re-election in November 2018, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Harris, a high-profile member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, faced both massive backlash and praise for her combative line of questioning of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court hearings. She later used her role in the tumultuous confirmation process to fundraise for vulnerable Democrats during the midterms.

If elected, Harris would be the United States’ first female president. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran, but lost to President Donald Trump in 2016.