DELAWARE, United States (AP) — Joe Biden named California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate yesterday, making history by selecting the first black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role black voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump.

“I have the great honour to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate,” Biden tweeted. In a text message to supporters, Biden said, “Together, with you, we’re going to beat Trump.”

Harris and Biden plan to deliver remarks today in Wilmington.

In choosing Harris, Biden is embracing a former rival from the Democratic primary who is familiar with the unique rigour of a national campaign. Harris, a 55-year-old first-term senator, is also one of the party’s most prominent figures and quickly became a top contender for the number two spot after her own White House campaign ended.

Harris joins Biden in the 2020 race at a moment of unprecedented national crisis. The novel coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people in the US, far more than the toll experienced in other countries. Business closures and disruptions resulting from the pandemic have caused an economic collapse. Unrest, meanwhile, has emerged across the country as Americans protest racism and police brutality.

Trump’s uneven handling of the crises has given Biden an opening, and he enters the fall campaign in strong position against the president. In adding Harris to the ticket, he can point to her relatively centrist record on issues such as health care and her background in law enforcement in the nation’s largest state.

Harris’s record as California’s attorney general and district attorney in San Francisco was heavily scrutinised during the Democratic primary and turned off some liberals and younger black voters who saw her as out of step on issues of systemic racism in the legal system and police brutality. She tried to strike a balance on these issues, declaring herself a “progressive prosecutor” who backs law enforcement reforms.

Biden, who spent eight years as President Barack Obama’s vice-president, has spent months weighing who would fill that same role in his White House. He pledged in March to select a woman as his vice-president, easing frustration among Democrats that the presidential race would centre on two white men in their 70s.

Biden’s search was expansive, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive; Florida Representative Val Demings, whose impeachment prosecution of Trump won plaudits; California Representative Karen Bass, who leads the Congressional Black Caucus; former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice; and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, whose passionate response to unrest in her city garnered national attention.

Rice congratulated Harris on her selection, calling her a “tenacious and trailblazing leader”. Rice said she would support Biden and Harris “with all my energy and commitment”.

Bass tweeted, “@KamalaHarris is a great choice for vice-president. Her tenacious pursuit of justice and relentless advocacy for the people is what is needed right now.”

A woman has never served as president or vice-president in the United States. Two women have been nominated as running mates on major party tickets: Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Republican Sarah Palin in 2008. Their party lost in the general election.