America
Ami Bera backs Kamala Harris for US senate run
Washington, Feb 5
California's Indian-American
Attorney General Kamala Harris, a "good friend" of President Barack
Obama, has won the support of the lone Indian-American House member Ami
Bera in her run for the Senate.
California-born Harris, 50, the
state's first Indian-American and first African American top law officer
had last month thrown her hat into the ring for the 2016 race to
replace fellow Democrat veteran Barbara Boxer in the US Senate.
Harrison's
mother Dr Shyamala Gopalan is a breast cancer specialist who emigrated
from Chennai in the 1960s while her father Donald Harris is an economics
professor at Stanford University.
"As a fellow lifelong
Californian, I'm proud to support Kamala Harris in her campaign for the
US Senate," said Bera, who is co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on
India and Indian Americans and a member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee.
Born and raised in California, he is the third
Indian-American member of the US House of Representatives after current
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and Dalip Singh Saund.
"She is a
defender of the middle class and has a strong record of standing up for
women's rights. I can't think of a better role model for my own
daughter," said Bera in a statement Wednesday
"As the only Indian
American in Congress, I'm also excited for what her election would mean
for the Indian American community," Bera said.
"If elected, she'd be the first Indian American woman in Congress, and the first-ever Indian American Senator."
"I
look forward to supporting her in the months ahead and to working with
her on the issues that matter to Californians," he said.
"I'm
honoured to have Dr. Bera's support," said Harris. "He is a champion of
California middle class families on issues like health care and
education, a strong proponent of growing our California economy, and a
national leader in the Indian American community."
"I appreciate
his strong endorsement and look forward to partnering with him in the
future," added Harris, the former district attorney of San Francisco who
has just started her second term as California attorney general.
Obama last year caused a bit of a stir when he called Harris "by far the best-looking attorney general."
He
later called long time friend Harris to apologise for saying: "She's
brilliant and she's dedicated, she's tough. She also happens to be, by
far, the best-looking attorney general ... It's true! C'mon." Harris
graciously accepted the President's apology.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])