Kamala Harris becomes first Black, Asian American woman to become major party’s VP nominee


Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing
August 20, 2020: Kamala Harris became the first Black and Asian American woman to accept a major party’s vice presidential nomination. Donald Trump is holding a campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania—Joe Biden’s birthplace—on Thursday afternoon.


Campaign Ad Comparison
DPNB campaign ad comparison feature, 2020 ("Dignity" – Joe Biden)

DPNB campaign ad comparison feature, 2020 ("What Happened to Joe Biden?" – Donald Trump)

Notable Quote of the Day

“[Kamala Harris] tried to allow Democrats — especially women and people of color — to see themselves in her words. She vouched for Biden. She punched Donald Trump, but not nearly as hard as Barack Obama had moments before.

She met the moment, but did not try to be all things to all Democrats.

There was no olive branch to progressives, who hoped to be voting for a different presidential candidate, then wished for another woman to be Biden’s VP pick. She made racial injustice a defining focus of her speech. And Harris also did not nod to the dual realities of representing Biden while carving out areas for herself in future policy debates.”

– Christopher Cadelago and Natasha Korecki, Politico

Election Updates

  • The Joe Biden campaign hired eight new staffers for its New Hampshire campaign leadership team, including Isabelle James as deputy state director and Dustin Sheets as GOTV director.

  • Kamala Harris became the first Black and Asian American woman to accept a major party’s vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention. In her acceptance speech, she discussed her upbringing and exposure to the civil rights movement.

  • Donald Trump is holding a campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania—Biden’s birthplace—on Thursday afternoon. The campaign said the speech’s theme would be “a half-century of Joe Biden failing America.”

  • The Trump campaign released a two-minute digital ad focused on Hunter Biden’s business associations with China on Thursday.

  • The Wisconsin Elections Commission is expected to reject Kanye West’s petition to be on the ballot on Thursday because his staffer submitted his nominating signatures after the 5 p.m. deadline on August 4.

Flashback: August 20, 2016

Donald Trump discussed immigration policies with his newly formed Hispanic advisory council.blank

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