Democratic US Senator Kamala Harris jumps into the 2020 White House race.

First-term Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California launched her 2020 campaign for the White House on Monday (Jan 21) by touting her experience as a prosecutor.

The rising party star, daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, enters the race with the potential advantage of being the Democratic candidate who looks most like the party’s increasingly diverse base of young, female and minority voters.

She is also the first person of South-Asian descent to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The former state attorney general ranks consistently high in popularity polls, although she currently has a 43% approval rate, according to Morning Consult, a research and data company.

Should she be elected, Harris would be the first black woman president in U.S. history.

A strong boost

The Senator raised $1.5 million from 38,000 donors online in the 24 hours after announcing her presidential run on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, her campaign said.

On her announcement, Ms. Harris said, according to CNN:

“The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values (…) That’s why I’m running for president of the United States. I’m running to lift those voices, to bring our voices together.”

Harris chose Baltimore, not Oakland, for her campaign HQ, as the accessibility to D.C. makes it easy to recruit political staff in the area and allows Harris to juggle her Senate duties.

Baltimore is also home to a population that is over 60% black, 30% white and 5% Hispanic.

“Baltimore is a diverse, vibrant, up-and-coming American city, and we are excited to have our headquarters there and become a part of the community,” said campaign press secretary Ian Sams, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.