Kamala Harris

“I stand before you today humbled to be chosen to be the next Attorney General of the state,” Harris said. “…I'd like to acknowledge and thank District Attorney Steve Cooley for his leadership. I have talked to him and look forward to working with him.”

Cooley conceded last Wednesday before the final count was officially in. For weeks, it was unclear who the winner would be, and ultimately, Harris won by a margin of less than one percentage point.

Harris said she’d work with other elected leaders to represent the people of California.

“I’m proud that we can stand here today recognizing that one does not have to run from their convictions when running for office,” Harris said. “The work that we will do going forward will be the work of rejecting false choices, of accepting the fact that we can be tough on crime while being smart on crime.”

Harris also took time out to talk about prison reform, which is currently costing the state of California - a state with one of the highest recidivism rates in the nation - billions of dollars.

“I absolutely believe that we have to fix the system and it cannot be fixed by just reacting,” Harris said. “It is a system that is failing us and is therefore crying out for reform.”

Harris said other areas of major importance for her include cracking down on mortgage fraud and foreclosures and working closely with local law enforcement agencies and officials in order to prevent identity theft and upgrade crime lab technology.

Harris will hold another press conference in San Francisco Tuesday afternoon.

To reach reporter Laura Cueva, click here. Follow her on Twitter @leccueva.