Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee for president.
A survey by the Associated Press on Monday evening revealed she had received the endorsement of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting. This sets Harris on course to be the party’s standard bearer against Republican Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.
The nomination will be officially confirmed when party delegates hold a roll call vote ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. While delegates’ pledges of support are non-binding until the vote, they are unlikely to change.
No-one has publicly stepped forward to challenge Harris since President Joe Biden left the race on Sunday.
Biden faced mounting pressure from senior members of his party following a stumbling debate performance against Trump. If the delegate support holds until the votes, scheduled to take place from 1-7 August, Harris would formally clinch the party’s nomination.
The survey by AP indicates a groundswell of support for Harris since Biden’s announcement, with millions of dollars in donations pouring into her campaign and leading Democrats lining up to support her bid.
Harris is set to appear in the key swing state of Wisconsin on Tuesday, at a rally in Milwaukee, marking her first campaign event since Biden endorsed her.
Meanwhile, Biden will return to the White House after a period of isolation due to a COVID-19 infection. He is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Harris will meet Netanyahu separately but will be unable to preside over his planned address to a joint session of Congress due to a previously scheduled event.
Speaking to staff at her campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday evening, Harris focused on Trump.
Referring to her early career as a prosecutor in California, she said, “I know Donald Trump’s type.”
She emphasized the Biden-Harris campaign’s vision of the future versus Trump’s, stating, “Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards… we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.”
Harris also praised Biden’s accomplishments and described her time serving as his Vice-President as “one of the greatest honours of my life.”
Get instant and latest news updates via Our WhatsApp Community or Google News online channel.