Harris was the first African-American woman to become California attorney general, the first African-American senator California has ever elected, and the second African-American woman to sit on the Senate’s powerful Judiciary Committee. “I would think in a national Democratic primary, part of Harris’ path to victory is doing what Obama did: performing strongly in the South, where African-American support is so important,” says UVA’s Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball.