Representative Hakeem Jeffries
Credit: © lev radin/Shutterstock

On Tuesday, January 3, 2023, Hakeem Jeffries became the first Black person to lead a party in the United States Congress. As the leader of the Democratic Party in Congress, Jeffries will fill the role formerly held by Representative Nancy Pelosi, who was speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives since 2003. His success was overshadowed by the dramatic chaos of Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy’s campaign to be elected Speaker of the House, which continued for days for the first time in a century. In 2022, the Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives elected Jeffries minority leader. Jeffries became a member of the House in 2013. He represents a district of New York that includes the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

A Brooklyn native, Hakeem Sekou Jeffries was born on Aug. 4, 1970. His father was a substance abuse counselor, and his mother was a social worker. Jeffries graduated from New York’s Binghamton University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in public policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Jeffries returned to New York City to enroll in the New York University School of Law, graduating with honors in 1997.

After law school, Jeffries clerked for Judge Harold Baer, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He then practiced law at a private firm. He later served as litigation counsel for the media companies Viacom Inc. and CBS. Jeffries ran for the New York State Assembly in 2000 and 2002, losing to the incumbent Roger Green. When Green vacated the post in 2006, Jeffries ran and won the election, serving in the role for three terms.

In 2012, Jeffries was elected to his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Budget Committee. In 2018, Jeffries was appointed to serve as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus for the 116th Congress. In 2020, he served as impeachment manager for the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump. Jeffries’s political priorities include criminal justice reform and economic and health care security.

United States Senator Tammy Duckworth
Credit: U.S. Congress

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, was elected to the United States Senate in 2016. As a senator, she has been a champion for civil rights, environmental justice, and veterans’ affairs.

Ladda Tammy Duckworth was born in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 12, 1968, to a Thai mother and an American father. Her father had been serving in Southeast Asia in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). When Tammy Duckworth was a child, the family moved around the region while her father worked with the United Nations and private corporations. She became fluent in Thai, Indonesian, and English. The family later moved to Hawaii, where Duckworth finished high school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaii (also spelled University of Hawai‘i) in 1989.

Duckworth joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in 1990 while working on a master’s degree in international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She completed her degree in 1992. That year, she also got her commission as a reserve officer and trained as an army helicopter pilot. In 1996, while studying for a doctorate in political science at Northern Illinois University, she transferred to the Illinois National Guard. She later completed a doctorate in human services at Capella University, an online-based school.

In 2004, while Duckworth was still a student at Northern Illinois, her National Guard regiment was sent to Iraq. On November 12, her helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. She lost both legs and some of the use of her right arm. In December, she was awarded a Purple Heart for her injuries. The Purple Heart is a medal given to soldiers of the U.S. armed forces who are wounded or killed in combat. Following a lengthy recovery, Duckworth began working for better medical care for veterans. In 2006, she ran unsuccessfully for an Illinois seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich then named her director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed her assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs.

In 2012, Duckworth was elected to the U.S. House, representing a district in the Chicago suburbs. She was reelected in 2014. Also in 2014, she retired from the Army Reserves, having achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 2016, Duckworth defeated incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Duckworth married Bryan Bowlsbey, an officer in the Army National Guard, in 1993. In 2018, she became the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth when she delivered a daughter, Maile Pearl. The couple’s first child, Abigail, was born in 2014, while Duckworth was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Duckworth’s memoir, Every Day is a Gift, was published in 2021.

Kamala Harris
Credit: California Attorney General’s Office

March is Women’s History Month, an annual observance of women’s achievements and contributions to society. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature woman pioneers in a variety of areas. 

Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams have reshaped the American political landscape not only for women and people of color, but for all Americans. Regardless of political affiliation, both have opened doors for women, rising to new heights in government and politics.

Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California, on Oct. 20, 1964. Her mother, a physician and cancer specialist, was born in India. Her father, who was born in Jamaica, became an economics professor. In 1986, Harris received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Howard University. In 1989, she earned a law degree from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

From 1990 to 1998, Harris served as deputy district attorney for Alameda County, in California. In 1998, she became the managing attorney of the Career Criminal Unit of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. In 2000, she was named to lead the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Families and Children.

In 2003, Harris won election as San Francisco district attorney. She was reelected in 2007 and served through 2010. Her victory in the 2010 campaign for state attorney general marked the first time that a woman and—because of her mixed ethnicity—a person of Black and South Asian ancestry won the post. Harris took office in 2011. As attorney general, she gained attention for her work to combat transnational gangs and investigate banks that engaged in mortgage fraud. She was reelected in 2014 and served until 2017.

In June 2016, Harris finished first in California’s open primary for a U.S. Senate seat. She defeated Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, a fellow Democrat, in the November election. As a U.S. senator, Harris served on a number of committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.

In January 2019, Harris began a campaign for her party’s 2020 nomination for president. She dropped out of the race in December 2019, while trailing her competitors in fundraising and in support in public opinion polls.

In August 2020, Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, named Harris his vice presidential running mate. Issues in the campaign included the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and tensions between Black communities and police. Biden and Harris won the November 2020 election. Harris resigned her Senate seat in January 2021, days before she and Biden took office. On Jan. 20, 2021, Harris became the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States. She also became the first person of Black and South Asian ancestry to serve in the position.

Stacey Abrams
Credit: © Cheriss May, NurPhoto/Getty Images

Stacey Abrams also played a major role in the 2020 election. Get-out-the-vote drives championed by Abrams are widely credited with helping Biden and Harris to win the state of Georgia. They are also said to have helped two Democrats to victory in state runoff elections, tipping the balance of the U.S. Senate.

Stacey Yvonne Abrams was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on Dec. 9, 1973. She grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi. When Abrams was 16, her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. In 1991, Abrams graduated from Avondale High School, where she was the first Black valedictorian. The valedictorian is the graduate with the highest marks. In 1995, she graduated magna cum laude (with great honor) from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies. The major combined political science, economics, and sociology. She then attended the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, receiving a master’s degree in public policy in 1998. The next year, Abrams earned her J.D. degree from the law school of Yale University.

After graduating law school, Abrams began working at a law firm in Atlanta. In 2003, she started her career in government. She became the deputy attorney for the city of Atlanta’s law department. In 2006, Abrams was elected to Georgia’s House of Representatives from the state’s 84th district.

After four years as a representative, Abrams was chosen by the Democratic Party to serve as minority leader in the House of Representatives of Georgia. She became the first woman to serve as leader of either party in the Georgia General Assembly, the state’s legislature.

In 2018, she became the first Black woman nominated by a major political party to run for governor of Georgia. In the primary contest, Abrams defeated the Democrat Stacey Evans. But, in the general election, she was narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate Brian Kemp.

In addition to holding political office, Abrams has founded several political organizations. In 2014, she founded the New Georgia Project to counteract challenges to voter rights and increased barriers to voter registration. In 2018, she founded Fair Fight, an organization promoting voter education and fair elections.

Vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris
Credit: California Attorney General’s Office

On Aug. 11, 2020, the Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden, Jr., selected Senator Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate. Harris became the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be placed on the presidential ticket of a major political party.

Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California, on Oct. 20, 1964. In 1986, Harris received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Howard University. In 1989, she earned a law degree from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Harris began her career in 1990, when she became deputy district attorney for Alameda County, California. In 1998, she became the managing attorney of the Career Criminal Unit of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. In 2000, she was named to lead the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Families and Children.

In 2003, Harris won election as San Francisco district attorney. She was reelected in 2007 and served through 2010. Her victory in the 2010 campaign for state attorney general marked the first time that a woman and—because of her mixed ethnicity—a person of African American and South Asian ancestry won the post. Harris took office in 2011. As attorney general, she gained attention for her work to combat transnational gangs and investigate banks that engaged in mortgage fraud. She was reelected in 2014 and served until 2017.

In June 2016, Harris finished first in California’s open primary for the U.S. Senate seat. As a U.S. senator, Harris has served on a number of committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.

In January 2019, Harris began a campaign for her party’s 2020 nomination for president. She dropped out of the race in December 2019, while trailing her competitors in fundraising and in support in public opinion polls. Harris was expected to formally accept the vice-presidential nomination as part of the Democratic National Convention, beginning August 17.

June 8, 2016

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, speaks at a victory rally at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City on June 7, 2016.
Credit: © Krista Kennell, Shutterstock

Yesterday, primary and caucus voters in six states—including delegate-rich California—pushed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton well beyond the 2,383 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic Party’s nomination for president of the United States. Prior to those final state primaries (Washington, D.C., votes last, on June 14), Clinton had hit 2,383 delegates exactly, but 571 of those were superdelegates. As her Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders, has often pointed out, superdelegates vote the way they want to, regardless of their home state’s choice, and they can potentially change their mind. On Tuesday, Clinton won the vote in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota (Sanders edged her out in Montana and North Dakota). The wins gave Clinton a commanding delegate lead of 2,755 to Sanders’s 1,852. In theory, a massive superdelegate switch could still bail out Sanders, but the odds of that happening are slim.

All the delegate counting and “politics” of the lengthy campaign nearly swallowed up one very important fact: Hillary Clinton will now become the first woman ever nominated by a major party for president of the United States. Clinton first entered the national political scene as first lady in the 1990’s. She then represented New York in the U.S. Senate from 2001 until 2009, when she became secretary of state, a position she held until 2013. And, of course, there was her presidential run in 2008, when she finished second to a skyrocketing Barack Obama. Clinton is no newcomer to the political stage, but that should not lessen the significance of her historic achievement. Her nomination will become official at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia at the end of next month.

With Sanders (mostly) in the rear-view mirror, Clinton now sets her sights squarely on her next opponent, the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. The U.S. presidential election takes place on Tuesday, November 8.

November 5, 2014

Yesterday’s mid-term elections were a rout for Democrats in Washington as well as in state capitals across much of the United States. Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate with at least 52 seats and possibly 2 additional seats with elections in Louisiana and Alaska undecided. (The contest in Louisiana will not be settled until December, when Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu will face Republican Representative Bill Cassidy in a runoff election.) The shift in the Senate elevates Mitch McConnell (R., Kentucky) to majority leader and demotes Harry Reid (D., Nevada) to minority leader.

In the House of Representatives, Republicans enlarged their majority from 233 to 243 seats, the party’s greatest advantage in the House since the 1940′s. Democrats will control only 178 seats when the 114^th Congress convenes this January.

Mitch McConnell (R., Kentucky) is the new majority leader of the U.S. Senate. (U.S. Senate)

In state elections, Republicans gained control of 31 governorships, up from 29. In exit polls, nearly 6 out of 10 voters stated they were “dissatisfied” or “angry” at the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama as well as at leaders in Congress, both Republican and Democratic.

November 8, 2012

Barack Obama was reelected president of the United States on November 6, winning at least 303 Electoral College votes, compared with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 206 votes. In defeating Romney, the president carried the swing states of Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. He also took Michigan and Minnesota, where Republican super PAC’s (political action committees) spent millions trying to influence voters. Romney won North Carolina and Indiana, which the president carried four years ago. The president holds a narrow advantage in Florida, where the counting of ballots continues.  Obama is the first president to win reelection with unemployment above 7.2 percent since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.

Barack Obama won reelection with at least 303 votes in the Electoral College. (The White House)

Republicans remain firmly in control of the House of Representatives. Democrats retained their majority in the U.S. Senate, taking over highly contested Republican seats in Indiana and Massachusetts while holding on to most of those they already had, including in Virginia and Missouri.

Six of the newly elected senators are women, raising the total in the chamber to 20, the most ever. One new member, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, will become the Senate’s first openly gay member. Voters in both Maryland and Maine approved referenda allowing same-sex couples to marry–the first time same-sex marriage has been approved by a popular vote in the United States.  Minnesotans rejected a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in that state. In Washington state and Colorado, citizens voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

Additional World Book articles:

• Joe Biden
• Election campaign
• Electoral College
• Paul Ryan
• Election 1936 (a Back in Time article)
• 2008 Elections: A Pivotal Choice (a special report)
• Tempest in a Tea Party (a special report)

October 3, 2012

A Pennsylvania judge ruled yesterday that voters do not need valid photo ID’s to cast a ballot in the upcoming presidential election. The judge, Robert Simpson, did not overturn the law, but rather delayed its implementation on the grounds that the authorities had not done enough to ensure that potential voters had access to the new documents. The judge noted in his ruling that for the November 6 presidential election voters can be asked to produce the newly required photo ID, but those without one can still vote. Judge Simpson had upheld Pennsylvania’s photo ID law in August, but the state supreme court subsequently instructed him to hold further hearings on whether enough had been done to ensure “liberal access” to the picture ID cards.

In a historical photo, African Americans vote in Harlem in 1964. Opponents of voter ID laws in 2012, including civil rights organizations and the Democratic Party, feared that such laws may disenfranchise elderly and minority urban voters. (courtesy AP/Wide World)

Voter ID laws–generally backed by the Republican Party “to prevent electoral fraud”–have triggered a nation-wide debate over voting rights. Opponents of such laws, including civil rights organizations and the Democratic Party, maintain that voter fraud is rare and that such laws make it harder for people to vote. They argue that the elderly and urban minorities often depend on public transportation and, therefore, do not have driver’s licenses. Courts have upheld voter ID laws in Georgia, Indiana, and New Hampshire. They have been blocked in Texas and Wisconsin. South Carolina’s voter ID law is currently under court review. Historically, lower voter turnouts have benefited Republican candidates.

September 7, 2012

Barack Obama officially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for a second term as president of the United States on September 6 in a speech arguing that the 2012 presidential election presents American voters with a “choice between two different paths for America.” President Obama received the nomination on September 5 during a roll-call vote of state delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

President Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for a second term as president on September 6. (The White House)

In his acceptance speech, President Obama sought to rally his supporters, saying, “If you turn away now, if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible, well, change will not happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void.” He also addressed disappointment over the pace of the economic recovery.  “Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.” He argued that he had put in place the foundation for a revived economy but that more time was needed to address economic problems that had developed over several decades.

Political experts note that the president is faced with the political fight of his life against the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. At the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, on August 30, former Massachusetts Governor Romney contended that continuing high unemployment had led many Americans to give up on President Obama. He argued that the president had failed to create enough jobs, cut the deficit, or increase incomes.  In his acceptance speech, President Obama responded by linking Romney and his running mate, Paul D. Ryan, to what he described as the failed trickle-down economic policies that favor the rich, noting: “all they have to offer is the same prescription they’ve had for the last 30 years.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Government Jumps In (a special report)
• Economic Crisis – Then and Now (a special report)

Sept. 6, 2012

Last night, former U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated President Barack Obama as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president of the United States at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. The nomination came after a rousing speech in which the former president made an impassioned plea on behalf of Obama and his unique vision for the restoration of the American middle class.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (courtesy of the Democratic National Committee)

Clinton delivered a point-by-point rebuttal of the arguments made against the president’s record by Republicans who convened last week in Tampa–from the Great Recession and auto bailout to health care and immigration reform. “President Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did,” stated Mr. Clinton. “No president, not me, not any of my predecessors, could have repaired all of the damage he found in just four years. . . . Is the president satisfied? Of course not, but are we better off than we were when he took office?” asked the former president. “The answer is yes.”

U.S. President Barack Obama (courtesy of The White House)

Clinton then saluted Obama’s efforts to facilitate bipartisan political cooperation, noting that he had appointed Republicans to Cabinet positions and former political rivals Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as vice president and Clinton’s own wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state.

The first night of the convention on September 4 was dominated by First Lady Michelle Obama, who honored her husband as well as flag and country, reiterating her unstinting support for America’s military families. Mrs. Obama then told the story of her working-class parents’ struggle to provide her and her brother with educations and discussed President Obama’s childhood struggles as the son of a single white mother.

Additional World Book articles:

• The Big Three Roll Again (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Government Jumps In (a special report)
• Economic Crisis – Then and Now (a special report)
• Health Care Reform – What’s in It for You? (a special report)