Kamala Harris is elected California's new U.S. senator

It wasn't all doom and gloom for Democrats on election day. Kamala Harris, of California was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

California voters on Tuesday elected the state’s first new U.S. senator in 24 years, and made history in the process.

State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris easily won the race over Loretta Sanchez, according to the Associated Press, becoming the first black politician in history to represent California in the Senate.

Harris, the first woman elected as California attorney general, will succeed Democrat Barbara Boxer, who is retiring after serving four terms in the U.S. Senate.

Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, becomes only the second black woman ever elected to the Senate.

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Pres. Obama endorses Kamala Harris for US Senate

In a major development in the California U.S. Senate race, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris this morning, citing her record standing up to powerful interests and delivering victories for California families as a prosecutor.

President Obama statement:

I am proud to endorse Kamala Harris for United States Senate because I’ve seen her work. Kamala is a lifelong courtroom prosecutor with only one client: the people of the State of California. That’s the approach she’ll take to the United States Senate.

Kamala’s experience has taught her that if you’re going to give everybody a fair shot, you’ve got to take on the special interests that too often stand in the way of progress. As Attorney General, she fought the big banks that took advantage of homeowners across the country – and she won. She cracked down on transnational gangs exploiting women and children – and she won. She took on big for-profit colleges that were swindling students and leaving them with a lifetime of debt and a worthless degree – and she won. She took on big oil companies to defend California’s beautiful coast and its landmark law to fight climate change – and she won. Her leadership helped ensure the right of all Americans to marry the person they love. And throughout her lifetime as a prosecutor, Kamala Harris has been a leading voice for criminal justice reform, challenging old dogma and insisting we be “smart on crime” by ending mass incarceration.

Kamala Harris fights for us. That’s why I’m so proud to endorse her for United States Senator. And if you send her to the Senate, she’ll be a fearless fighter for the people of California – all the people of California – every single day.

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Kamala Harris, Loretta Sanchez advance in U.S. Senate race

California’s first open U.S. Senate seat in nearly a quarter-century will remain in Democratic hands, as Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez outpaced 32 other candidates Tuesday to deny the state Republican Party a place in the fall runoff.

Harris, the state attorney general, clinched a first-place finish in the contest to succeed U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, more than doubling the percentage of Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman from Orange County.

As vote-counting continued, Harris led with 39.8 percent of the vote. Sanchez had 17.3 percent, followed by Republican Duf Sundheim at 9 percent.

Read more here: Kamala Harris, Loretta Sanchez advance in U.S. Senate race