Joe Biden

‘Hella Proud': Bay Area Reacts to Biden Picking Harris as His Running Mate

Harris is the first woman of color to be nominated for vice president, leaving some in the Bay Area overcome with emotion over the historic announcement.

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Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday named Oakland native and current California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Harris is the first Black and Indian American woman to be a vice presidential candidate.

Here's a look at her ties to the Bay Area and how some people reacted to the historic selection.

East Bay Pride

Harris has always had ties to the Bay Area. She was born in Oakland in 1964 and later received a law degree from the UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Harris previously told NBC Bay Area her mother was her guiding light. Her parents met at UC Berkeley as graduate students in the 1960s.

The California senator was a student at Thousand Oaks Elementary in Berkeley. That fact remains a daily source of pride for the school, which is evident with Harris' face featured in a vibrant campus mural.

Melissa Colorado has more on Harris' Bay Area ties in the video report below.

Melissa Colorado breaks down Sen. Kamala Harris' Bay Area ties.

Historic Nomination

There is a lot of history wrapped up in Harris' nomination. She is the first woman of color to be nominated for vice president.

Born to a Jamaican father and Indian mother, the 55-year-old first-term senator is one of the Democratic party’s most prominent figures.

Some in the Bay Area were overcome with emotion after hearing Harris was chosen by Biden.

"It's an overwhelming feeling knowing that a woman of color who looks like me, and Southeast Asian, and a Black woman is the vice president candidate," said Harini Krishnan, who is the state co-director of the group South Asians for Biden.

Krishnan is also a former Harris campaign volunteer.

NBC Bay Area's Damian Trujillo has more in the video report below.

There is a lot of history wrapped up in Harris' nomination. She is the first woman of color to be nominated for vice president. Damian Trujillo reports.

Politicians Weigh In

A number of prominent Bay Area politicians applauded Biden's choice, saying they were proud of Harris and excited to see her and Biden vie for the White House in the upcoming election.

Rep. Barbara Lee, who represents a portion of the East Bay, shares how she reacted to Sen. Kamala Harris being picked as Joe Biden's running mate and speaks on what Harris brings to the table.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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