If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the extraordinarily-tight US presidential election, she will create history by becoming the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to occupy the top post on the planet.

The 60-year-old joined the race after President Joe Biden dropped out from his re-election campaign in July, weeks after he came under severe scrutiny following his incoherent performance at a televised debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The nomination itself was historic as she became the first woman of colour in the US to be fielded by a major party in the presidential race.

In her address after formally accepting the nomination, Harris vowed to “chart a new way forward” far devoid of bitterness, cynicism and divisive politics.

In her remarks, she promised to work towards address problems of the middle class and even mentioned about her mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris’ journey as an immigrant from India.

"The middle class is where I come from,” she said. "My mother kept a strict budget. We lived within our means. Yet, we wanted for little. And she expected us to make the most of the opportunities that were available to us,” Harris said.

The vice president says she believes that when the middle class is strong, America is strong.

Harris has already made it clear that building up the middle class will be a defining goal of her presidency.

"That’s why I will make it a top priority in our to-do-list to bring down costs and increase economic security for all Americans," she said during her campaign rallies.

Her mother also taught her the value of hard work, bringing Kamala to her breast cancer research lab and showing her how to clean test tubes as a child, according to Harris’ profile on her campaign website.

Harris worked a summer job at McDonald’s while attending Howard University for her undergraduate degree.

At a young age, she decided she wanted to pursue a career fighting for vulnerable people after a close friend confided in her that she was experiencing abuse at home, the profile mentions.

After winning election as district attorney, she took on issues like domestic violence and gun violence.

As attorney general of a border state and chief law enforcement officer of the largest state in the nation, she cracked down on transnational criminal organisations trafficking drugs and vulnerable migrants across the border.

As a Senator, Harris called for legislation to raise wages and bring down costs for families on health care, housing, child care, college, and more.

In the overall campaign, Harris has been projecting the election as the one to protect the country’s fundamental freedoms, safeguard constitutional values and ensure women’s rights.

On his part, Trump has maintained his signature aggressive rhetoric and promising to rebuild the economy and rid the US from illegal immigrants.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.