How Kamala Harris is preparing for the momentpublished at 01:44 British Summer Time
Courtney Subramanian
Reporting from the convention
For Harris, tonight’s speech is a moment she’s never doubted would happen. Though it may have come sooner than expected, the vice-president has been preparing for this moment long before she was named the party’s nominee.
As she’s prepared over the last few weeks, retooling different drafts of the high-stakes speech, there’s been one person on her mind whose had the biggest effect on her life: Shyamala Gopalan Harris.
Harris has long described her late mother as the most influential person in her life, often citing her advice in speeches and sharing anecdotes about growing up being raised by an Indian immigrant and single mother. Gopalan Harris, a diminutive but fierce cancer researcher who moved from southern India to California for graduate school, instilled in Harris an unshakeable confidence that allies say has guided her in moments of doubt.
But expectations are high as Harris will both need to reintroduce herself to voters and lay out her vision for what her administration would look like.
A senior aide told the BBC that despite her longheld reluctance to lean into her personal story, Harris will highlight her biography more than her predecessors have.
Though Harris prefers talking about substantive issues and her record over her background, tonight, she’ll tell the world who she is and how she got here.