Award-winning political journalist Jessica Yellin breaks down the top headlines, interviews top newsmakers and delivers digestible news you can trust in her series News Not Noise.

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Democrats raised $26 million in the 24 hours after Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. That doubles his previous one-day record and is a measure of the party’s excitement. 

Harris is the daughter of two immigrants. Her father was an economist who emigrated from Jamaica. Her mom, a breast cancer researcher who emigrated from India. 

Harris is married to attorney Douglas Emhoff, and is a proud stepmom to his two children — they call her “Momala.”

She is the first black woman and first South Asian woman on a major party presidential ticket. She’s also the first graduate of an Historically Black College or University and, as former sorority sisters are excited to share — the first member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. 

What does Biden gain by choosing Harris?

He is running a change campaign — arguing that it’s time for a change from current leadership — and Harris advances that narrative. She brings comparative youth. She is 55 to Biden’s 77 years and an historic first in all the ways named above. 

Party insiders believe she can energize a few key voting blocs. They’re betting she’ll drive up turnout among Black voters of both genders and all ages. And advance an appeal to South Asian voters — a group president Trump has wooed with his outreach to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They could make up a crucial margin if the totals are close in swing states.

Democrats are also hopeful that Harris can court conservative leaning “soccer moms” without alienating Democrats’ progressive base. White women who voted for Trump in 2016 but backed the Democrats in the 2018 midterms are crucial to a democratic victory in November. 

Another reason for selecting Harris? She is from California, a state with a Democratic governor. Should she leave the Senate, it’s expected the Governor would appoint another Democrat — so the party won’t lose a senate seat.

Already Kamala Harris is the target of online smears, some even questioning her eligibility to hold high office. It all stems from the fact that she is the daughter of immigrants.

For the record, Kamala Harris is a natural born US citizen and, as defined by the US Constitution, eligible to be a Senator, a Vice President and President. 

And this is for trivia buffs: Harris is the third woman selected as a running mate for a major party after Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Sarah Palin in 2008.

Eight other black women in addition to Harris have run for president. They are Charlene Mitchell, Margaret Wright, Isabell Masters, Monica Moorehead, Cynthia McKinney, Peta Lindsay, Angel Joy Chavis Rocker, and Shirley Chisholm.