By Denise Stewart BlackAmericaWeb.com – Democrat Kamala Harris etched out a paper-thin victory in California’s general election in November, upsetting Republican Steve Cooley in the attorney general’s race and becoming the first woman of color to hold statewide office in her home state.
The tough road to the Attorney General’s Office was not the first challenge for the 46-year-old veteran prosecutor, who was named by Newsweek as one of the most powerful women in America even before her historic victory. But as the top law enforcer in her home state, she can look to even more challenges in the future.
“At present, she is the only woman of color to win statewide office in California history and only the second, following Carol Mosely Braun in Illinois, in the country,” said Dr. James Taylor, associate professor of political science at the University of San Francisco.
“Now her greatest challenge, like all public officials in the state, will be to implement her agenda under the strain of the state’s $28 million deficit,” Taylor told BlackAmericaWeb.com. Read the full story here.