there's a conspiracy theory that kamala harris' father was actually white, making her white and indian and not indian and african/jamaican. this would have some effect on identity voting in some places in the united states, which exposes the flimsy reasons why some low information voters make voting decisions.

obviously, that shouldn't matter.

however, kamala harris does seem to have a lighter skin tone than her presented parentage would intuitively suggest.

her mother's skin tone was similar but discernibly darker than hers:

you'd expect that if her father was black, harris would be darker than her mother, not lighter.

however, this isn't science. guessing genotypes from phenotypes is pre-mendelian. you can't do that.

it's a rough rule of thumb, though.

at the least, if i was kamala harris, i would seek a dna test. i would have reason to wonder. it has been reported that she doesn't have a relationship with her father, and the obvious reason might be the correct one.

it is not unusual for women to seek mating partners outside of their civil law arrangements. studies have indicated that upwards of 30% - one on three people - are raised by men that are not their biological fathers. women in a free society are consistently forced to balance economic and biological considerations in who they choose as mates, and those things don't necessarily align and they don't necessarily make compromises when they don't.