Indian-American Kamala Harris, the California Attorney General, today announced that she would run for the Senate seat from the state in 2016, setting the stage for a race that could be one of the most expensive in the country.   

"I'm sharing with you that I'm launching my campaign to represent the people of California in the United States Senate. I want to be a voice for Californians," Harris, 50, said in a message to her supporters posted on her campaign website.   

"I will be a fighter for the next generation on the critical issues facing our country. I will be a fighter for middle class families who are feeling the pinch of stagnant wages and diminishing opportunity," she said.  

Harris, the former district attorney of San Francisco who was just re-elected to her second term as attorney general, was the first to formally declare her candidacy since current Senator Barbara Boxer, 74, has announced that she would no >run for re-election in the 2016 elections.