Kamala Harris is Joe Biden's running mate

The Biden campaign has announced that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will give remarks tomorrow in Wilmington, Delaware. The time of the event has not been announced.

Stacey Abrams and Gretchen Whitmer, two other vice president contenders, praised Joe Biden's decision to choose Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Abrams tweeted that she is thrilled to support Harris as the next vice president and that Biden's focus is "on reaching out to every corner of our country."

Whitmer also said that she is proud to support Harris and called them a "fierce team to Build America Back Better"

Read the tweets:

Joe Biden called Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, himself earlier today to inform her that she would not be chosen as his running mate, according to a source familiar.

Following Joe Biden's announcement that Kamala Harris will be his 2020 election running mate, the candidate's campaign website was updated to show a photo of both candidates together.

Former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, who was among those seen as serious contenders as Joe Biden's running mate pick, congratulated Sen. Kamala Harris. 

"I warmly congratulate Senator Kamala Harris on her selection as Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential running mate," Rice said in a statement. "Senator Harris is a tenacious and trailblazing leader who will make a great partner on the campaign trail. I am confident that Biden-Harris will prove to be a winning ticket."

Rice said she would do her "utmost to assist Joe Biden to become the next president of the United States and to help him govern successfully."

 Her statement continued:

Joe Biden announced Tuesday that Kamala Harris will be his running mate for the 2020 election ballot, making the California senator the first Black woman to run on a major political party’s presidential ticket. 

In selecting Harris, Biden adds a former primary rival who centered her own presidential bid on her readiness to take on Trump and show Americans she would fight for them. 

She rose to national prominence within the Democratic Party by interrogating Trump nominees during Senate hearings, from former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.  

Harris’ selection comes months after Biden committed to picking a woman to join him on the Democratic ticket. Harris, 55, is now the third woman to serve as a vice presidential candidate for a major political party, following Geraldine Ferraro as the Democratic vice presidential pick in 1984 and Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential pick in 2008.

Aware that his age could be a concern to some voters, Biden, 77, has said that he is “a bridge” to a new slate of Democratic leaders, and by selecting Harris, more than 20 years his junior, he has elevated a leading figure from a younger generation within the party. 

Within the pantheon of female candidates that the former vice president considered, Harris was long viewed as the most-likely choice because of the breadth of her experience as a US senator, former California attorney general and former district attorney of San Francisco. 

While potential candidates like Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, California US Rep. Karen Bass and Florida Rep. Val Demings were viewed as fresh-faced additions to the ticket, none of them had been vetted by Democratic voters like Harris, nor did they have her experience in all levels of politics. With her multi-racial background as the child of two immigrants to the United States, her allies believed she could complement Biden as a symbol of a changing America. 

She also proved to be a hardworking surrogate for Biden in recent months, taking part in everything from virtual policy events with voters in swing districts to a live DJ dance party fundraiser with Diplo and D-Nice online. 

Still, some members of Biden’s team resisted choosing Harris. A recent Politico story noted that former Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who was helping vet candidates, was still galled by her attack on Biden during a June 2019 debate in Miami when she criticized his work with segregationist senators and highlighted his fight against busing to desegregate schools decades ago.  

The pushback against Harris apparently became so strong that Biden felt the need to defend her during his July 28 press conference, where an Associated Press photo captured the talking points about her on his notecard that included “do not hold grudges” and “great help to campaign.” 

Harris also benefited from being a running mate who could match this turbulent moment in American history. 

Many of the issues at the center of her life’s work — including criminal justice reform, improving healthcare for Black Americans and tackling income inequality — have come to the forefront in the three-pronged crisis America is now facing: the coronavirus pandemic (which has disproportionately affected communities of color), the fight against systemic racism and an economic recession. 

Harris took a rock to the head for supporting her friend:

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has announced Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate, making the California senator the first Black and South Asian American woman chosen for national office by a major political party.

The announcement comes following a search that was conducted under strict secrecy, with most campaign aides, donors and even many longtime Biden friends intentionally kept in the dark. 

"I have the great honor to announce that I've picked Kamala Harris," Biden tweeted. He called Harris a "fearless fighter" for the "little guy."

Biden and Harris will formally accept their nominations next week during the Democratic National Convention, which will be conducted via video from various locations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Read Biden's tweet:

Watch:

Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams was informed today that she is not Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

Abrams first ran for office in 2007, when she won her Georgia House seat. Over the next 10 years, she built a reputation as a hard worker and fully read in lawmaker, a standing that helped her launch a gubernatorial campaign in 2017-- a bid that would've made her the nation's first black woman state leader.

But Abrams lost that election against then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who was overseeing the election that he competed in. Voting rights was a flash point in the race, with the Republican secretary of state enforcing some of the most restrictive voting laws in the nation, and some Democrats contend that Abrams would be the governor of Georgia without the restrictive voting laws.

The loss, though, turned Abrams into a well-known and sought-after Democrat, with nearly every presidential candidate in 2020 looking to tie themselves to her in some way. After the election, Abrams founded Fair Fight, an organization that advocates for voter protection across the country.

The Biden campaign has informed some of the women the former vice president’s team vetted about his choice of running mate, three sources familiar with the matter tell CNN

Rep. Karen Bass of California was told by Joe Biden himself that she was not the pick, a source familiar tells CNN.

Bass had a relatively low-profile relative to the other VP contenders under consideration. She is serving her fifth term representing California's 37th Congressional District, which is based in Los Angeles County, and is the current chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

She was first elected to Congress in 2010, and represented the state’s 33rd Congressional District for two years before redistricting occurred. In addition to chairing the CBC, Bass serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she is the chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, and the House Judiciary Committee. She is also the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth. 

Prior to serving in Congress, Bass represented the 47th District in the California State Assembly from 2005 to 2010 and became the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of the California Assembly. She previously served as the Assembly Majority Whip and Majority Leader. 

Before running for office, Bass spent several years working as a physician assistant in one of the nation’s largest trauma centers in Los Angeles. 

The other contenders: The former vice president has spoken directly to the final contenders, according to people familiar with the process, through either face-to-face meetings or remote conversations.

Officials would not say which of the candidates visited Biden in person, but CNN confirmed last week that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had flown to Delaware for a meeting. California Sen. Kamala Harris and former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice are among the others seen as the most serious contenders.

CNN had previously reported that Biden was also believed to be considering Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, people familiar with the search say.