Kamala Harris has confirmed her tilt at the US Presidency (Image: GETTY)
Ms Harris, 54, who is a rising star in the party, is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India. She represents the party’s increasingly diverse base of young, female and minority voters. Announcing her bid, Ms Harris, Senator for California, told ABC's Good Morning America, she said: "I have the unique experience of having been a leader in local government, state government and federal government.”
She timed her announcement for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday honouring the slain civil rights leader, saying he was an aspirational leader.
She added: ”We are the best of who we are when we fight to achieve these ideals.
"We are flawed, we are not perfect, but we are a great country when we think about the principles upon which we're founded."
The former California state attorney general has become popular with liberal activists for her tough questioning of Trump administration appointees and officials, including Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, during Senate hearings.
Former vice-president Joe Biden is also tipped to run (Image: GETTY)
Her campaign will focus on reducing the high cost of living with a middle-class tax credit, pursuing immigration and criminal justice changes and a Medicare-for-all healthcare system. She has said she will reject corporate political action committee money.
Ms Harris' campaign will be based in Baltimore, with a second office in Oakland, California. Her slogan will be "For the People," in a nod to her roots as a prosecutor, aides said.
She will hold a launch rally in Oakland before the end of the month.
As one of the earliest congressional critics of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, Ms Harris has pushed hard for a deal to
