The road to the Oval Office has been a long time coming for Kamala Harris.
The vice president launched her career 34 years ago following her graduation from Howard University, an HBCU, and earning her law degree from the University of California, San Francisco, when she began working at the district attorney's office in Alameda County, California.
Ten years later, she was elected DA of San Francisco, and in 2010, she was elected attorney general of California, a role she held until 2017, before becoming a senator for the state that year, making her the second Black woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the Senate.
In 2019, she launched her first presidential campaign for the 2020 race, an election cycle that also saw President Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, and Bernie Sanders, among others, throw their hat in the ring, and which culminated in Biden choosing her as his running mate, and defeating Donald Trump.
Four years later, she's the vice president and presumptive nominee in the 2024 race, after Biden made the historic decision to withdraw his campaign. With less than 100 days to go before Election Day on November 5, take a look back at Harris through the years, from prosecutor to vice president.
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© GettyDistrict Attorney Harris
She became San Francisco's DA in 2004, and held the position until January 2011.
MORE: Kamala Harris' adorable nieces steal the show in must-see backstage video from rally
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© GettyThe Californians
With then San Francisco mayor, now California governor Gavin Newsom in 2008.
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© GettyTwo Future Presidents?
Harris, then California Attorney General, with former President Barack Obama in 2012.
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© GettyA Historic Win
Celebrating her senate win in 2016 after defeating Loretta Sanchez.
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© GettyA Poignant Announcement
She announced she was running for president during an appearance on Good Morning America on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2019.
MORE: Inside Kamala Harris' close bond with sister Maya Harris
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© GettyBiden Harris 2020
Biden announced Harris as his running mate in August of 2020.
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© GettyMadame Vice President
Harris, next to her husband Doug Emhoff, was sworn in as the U.S.' first female vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the Supreme Court, in January 2021.
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© Andrew HarnikHarris Walz 2024
Her second campaign for presidency officially began on Sunday, July 28, when Biden dropped out; she announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on August 6.
