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Mattel Launches Presidential Campaign Barbie Dolls

EL SEGUNDO (CBSLA) — This is no campaign promise – Mattel has unveiled a new line of Barbies who are working together to win the highest office in the land.

The El Segundo-based toymaker introduced the world to the new team of Barbie dolls with a presidential campaign team. The team includes a candidate, a campaign manager, a fundraiser and a voter.

It's not the first time Barbie has run for office – Mattel says the iconic doll has run for office seven times since 1992. This new team of dolls, however, is aimed at inspiring and educating future leaders "by highlighting the importance of voting and taking a stand and showing girls how to run a campaign."

mattel presidential campaign barbie
(credit: Mattel)

The 2020 candidate is a black doll, another nod to 2020's historic presidential campaign. California Sen. Kamala Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, may have dropped out of the presidential race, but presumptive nominee former Vice President Joe Biden has promised he will choose a woman as his running mate, and several Black candidates -- including Harris -- are front-runners.

"With less than a third of elected leaders in the U.S. being women, and Black women being even less represented in these positions, we designed the Barbie Campaign Team with a diverse set of dolls to show all girls they can raise their voices," Mattel's Lisa McKnight said in a statement. "Our goal is to remove barriers to leadership by giving girls the tools to imagine and play out their future roles."

Sales of Mattel's Barbie Dream Gap Project will benefit partner She Should Run to support young girls, especially girls of color, in their pathway to political leadership.

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