Vice President Kamala Harris is highlighting her background as a “top cop” as she aims to “prosecute” her Republican rival and advocate for her candidacy in the upcoming presidential election in November. However, critics argue that her legal background lacks significant accomplishments and that her ascent in politics has largely been fueled by networking.
Harris’s nearly thirty-year climb within the legal field has not been without challenges, including her unsuccessful attempt at the bar exam in 1989.
Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, who successfully passed the California bar exam in the same year on his first try, characterized Harris as a “political opportunist” who was always “in the right position, at the right time.” Through strategic decisions, she transitioned from district attorney to attorney general to senator to vice president – and possibly further.
“Networking,” Terrell stated, is the primary factor that propelled Harris’s career. “Let’s be honest, she advanced to her current roles not through academic accomplishments but through networking,” he asserted, referencing her positions as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, U.S. senator, and vice president.
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ journey to the top has been marked by various obstacles, including her initial failure of the bar exam in 1989. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Additionally, Terrell pointed out that Harris’s political journey was facilitated by the mentorship of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who has openly acknowledged his past relationship with her in the 1990s.
“She lacks significant achievements as a lawyer; her track record is quite empty,” Terrell remarked. “From my perspective, based on her speeches and approach to public issues… I don’t regard her as an intellectual heavyweight. Her current political status seems to derive purely from networking and circumstances.
Since announcing her presidential bid following President Biden’s withdrawal from the race, Harris has emphasized her experience as the state’s “top cop.”
“As a determined prosecutor, Kamala Harris faced criminals like Trump regularly: rapists, con artists, frauds – she’s familiar with handling individuals like Trump, used to asserting authority over them,” a spokesperson for a pro-Harris advertisement stated this week.
With Biden’s exit, Democrats have begun framing the election as a “Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” a reference to former President Trump, who was found guilty in a New York legal case earlier this year.
“The contrast in this election is undeniable—a prosecutor against a convicted felon. A defender of America’s core freedoms against a man who has consistently threatened them. Let’s get started,” Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., posted on X.
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“November 5: the Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., affirmed.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies during her confirmation hearings in the Senate, October 14, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Harris, who will celebrate her 60th birthday in October, had a 27-year tenure in the legal profession, which began with her unsuccessful bar exam attempt.
This failure gained attention in 2020, when she was campaigning alongside Biden for the presidency while fulfilling her Senate responsibilities, particularly serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In this role, Harris questioned Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by Trump to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Republicans are eager to confirm this nominee quickly because they need another Trump-appointed judge before November 10 to undermine the entire Affordable Care Act,” Harris stated during the confirmation hearing. “This is not an exaggeration. This is not a hypothetical scenario.”
Harris’s inquiries and exchanges with Coney Barrett were not as intense as her exchanges during previous hearings, including the contentious proceedings surrounding Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination in 2018. As the 2020 election approached, social media users noted that the then-vice presidential nominee had failed her bar exam, while Coney Barrett graduated at the top of her class from Notre Dame Law School.
“Kamala Harris failed the bar on her first attempt. Amy Coney Barrett was first in her class,” one social media comment read. “I rest my case.”
These observations led to fact checks by organizations such as USA Today, confirming that Harris had indeed failed the bar exam initially, while Barrett graduated at the top of her class. A New York Times profile from 2016 noted that Harris had failed the exam and subsequently comforted a young law student who had encountered the same fate, telling her: “It doesn’t define your capability.”
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Ashley Williams, Montel Williams, and Kamala Harris at the Eighth Annual Race To Erase Multiple Sclerosis Benefit in Century City, California, May 18, 2001. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Harris succeeded in passing the bar exam a year later, gaining admission in 1990, according to the California Bar’s website.
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She attended Howard University, a historically Black college, for her undergraduate studies and obtained her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, which Terrell acknowledges is a respected institution—making it “somewhat unusual” for a student to fail the bar exam on their first attempt.
District Attorney Kamala Harris entering a courtroom on April 29, 2004, in San Francisco. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
After eventually passing the bar, Harris began her career as a deputy district attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in 1990. She later transferred to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as an assistant DA and then moved to the city attorney’s office before running for the position of San Francisco’s top prosecutor in 2004. Harris was elected as San Francisco DA, serving in that capacity for approximately seven years, during which she developed connections with figures like then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and fellow Californian Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
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San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris addressing supporters prior to a press conference on October 29, 2008. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Her rapid advancement in politics continued, as she secured the role of California attorney general in 2011 under Gov. Jerry Brown, and then won her Senate seat in 2016 following the retirement of long-standing Sen. Barbara Boxer.
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Just days after Obama expressed his support for Biden’s presidential campaign in August 2020, Biden announced that Harris would join him on the Democratic ticket. Often dubbed “the Female Obama,” Harris has maintained a long-standing friendship with the 44th president, having been one of the first elected Democrats to endorse his initial campaign for the presidency in 2008, opting for him over Hillary Clinton.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama attending an event in the East Room of the White House on April 5, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“We did it, Joe,” Harris famously declared in a phone call with Biden after their victory in the election was confirmed.
Now, Harris stands as the presumed Democratic nominee for the 2024 election following Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race, which was followed closely by his endorsement of her candidacy.
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“My very first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as my Vice President, and it has proven to be the best decision I’ve ever made,” Biden proclaimed in an X post after stepping back from the race. “Today, I am giving my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats – let’s unite and defeat Trump. We can do this.”
Vice President Kamala Harris making remarks alongside President Biden in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 26, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Biden has faced increasing pressure from Democratic allies and the media to withdraw from the race since June 27, when he had a lackluster debate performance against Trump, marked by disjointed comments and a noticeable decrease in energy compared to previous public engagements.
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Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
