Kamala Harris's tenure as Attorney General of California

This article is part of a series about Kamala Harris
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Kamala Harris was elected the attorney general of California in 2010, becoming the first woman, and South Asian American to hold the office in the state's history. She took office on January 3, 2011, and would be re-elected in 2014 to serve until she resigned on January 3, 2017, to take her seat in the United States Senate.

In 2010, Harris announced her candidacy for attorney general and was endorsed by prominent California Democrats, including Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and others. She won the Democratic primary and narrowly defeated Republican Steve Cooley in the general election. Her tenure was marked by significant efforts in consumer protection, criminal justice reform, and privacy rights.

In 2014, Harris successfully ran for re-election, defeating Republican Ronald Gold with 58% of the vote. During her second term, she expanded her focus on consumer protection, securing major settlements against corporations like Quest Diagnostics, JPMorgan Chase, and Corinthian Colleges, recovering billions for California consumers. She spearheaded the creation of the Homeowner Bill of Rights to combat aggressive foreclosure practices, during the housing crisis, recording multiple nine-figure settlements against mortgage servicers. Harris also worked on privacy rights. She collaborated with major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook to ensure mobile apps disclosed their data-sharing practices. She created the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit, focusing on cyber privacy and data breaches. California secured settlements with companies like Comcast and Houzz for privacy violations.

Harris was instrumental in advancing criminal justice reform. She launched the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry and implemented the Back on Track LA program, which provided educational and job training opportunities for non-violent offenders. Despite her focus on reform, Harris faced criticism for defending the state’s position in cases involving wrongful convictions and for her office's stance on prison labor. She continued to advocate for progressive reforms, including banning the gay panic defense in California courts and opposing Proposition 8, the state's same-sex marriage ban.