Kamala Harris is a person.
Kamala Devi Harris ( [ ˈkɑːmələ ] born October 20 , 1964 ) is an American attorney and politician who is the junior United States Senator from California . She is a member of the Democratic Party and served as the 32nd Attorney General of California . She served as Managing Attorney of the Career Criminal Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney 's Office ( 1998-2000 ) and as Chief of the Community and Neighborhood Division in the office of San Francisco City Attorney ( 2000 -- 03 ) . In 2003 , she was elected as California 's first African American female District Attorney of San Francisco , defeating incumbent Terence Hallinan . Harris was the first woman , the first Jamaican American , the first Asian American , the first Indian American , and the first African American attorney general in California .