When California Sen. Barbara Boxer announced that she would not run for reelection in 2016, several prominent California Democrats stated their interest in potential runs, including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (UPDATE: Newsom is not going to make the run for the Senate seat, most likely to run for Governor). But perhaps the brightest political star in California, Attorney General Kamala Harris, changed the calculus by announcing her candidacy for the Senate slot. National Dems are praising Harris' decision to enter the race, and are signaling to other Dems that she would be their prohibitive favorite. Harris, a speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, was one of a few candidates under serious consideration for the U.S. Attorney General position after Eric Holder announced his resignation, but declined to be considered for the Federal post.
Harris was born in Oakland, CA to a Jamaican-American father who is an economics professor at Stanford, and an Indian mother who is a medical doctor and breast cancer specialist.
