Why have so few American presidents been from the West?
Kamala Harris’s nomination would be a milestone for the region

WHEN KAMALA HARRIS secures the Democratic nomination for president it will mark a number of firsts. She will be the first black woman, and the first Asian-American, to be a major party’s nominee for president. But she will also achieve a lesser-known first. Ms Harris will be the first presidential nominee in the Democratic Party’s nearly 200-year history to hail from a western state.
Explore more
More from The Economist explains

Would legal doping change the Olympics?
The impact would be smaller—and worse—than proponents of drug-taking claim

Do vice-presidential picks matter?
If they have any effect on an election’s result, it is at the margins

What led to the bitter controversy over an Olympics boxing match?
A mighty punch by an Algerian boxer has revived a politically charged dispute
Is this the end of Project 2025, the plan that riled Donald Trump?
The right-wing blueprint for governing has taken centre-stage in America’s presidential campaign
Who should control Western Sahara?
France becomes the latest country to back Morocco’s claim
Who are the Druze, the victims of a deadly strike on Israel?
The religious minority has often been caught up in regional crossfire in the Middle East