WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough Democratic delegate support to become the party's nominee against Republican Donald Trump, the White House said on Tuesday. Associated Press investigationLeading Democrats have rallied around her after President Joe Biden decided not to run for reelection.
The rapid rally around Harris marked an attempt by the party to end weeks of intraparty divisions over Biden's political future and unite around the challenge of defeating Trump with just over 100 days until Election Day. Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political groups were quick to back the move. Standing behind Harris His campaign set a new 24-hour record for donations to a presidential election on Monday, a day after Biden dropped out of the race.
Delegates from several states, including Texas and Harris' home state of California, met late Monday to confirm their support for Harris. By Monday night, Harris had far surpassed the 1,976 delegates needed to win in the first round, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Delegates contacted by The Associated Press had not named any other candidates.
California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75 to 80 percent of the state's delegation participated in Tuesday's call and that all of them supported Harris.
“I have not heard anybody mention any other candidates or endorse any other candidates,” Hicks said. “Tonight's vote was extremely important.”
Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee because convention delegates will be free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the August convention or if Democrats continue the race. Virtual roll call Ahead of the rally in Chicago.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with NCAA college athletes on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Harris responded to the AP tally in a statement, saying, “I thank President Biden and the Democratic Party for the confidence they have already placed in me, and I look forward to making our case directly to the American people.”
Concerns about Biden's fitness to be president have been replaced by new signs of unity after a dramatic shift in the presidential race upended the two major parties' carefully crafted plans for the 2024 election.
Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris acknowledged the “roller coaster” nature of the past few weeks but expressed confidence in her new team.
“It is my intention to win this nomination and to win,” she said. She promised to “unite the Democratic Party, unite the country and win this election.”
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She quickly leaned into a theme that will be prominent in the anti-Trump campaign over the next 100 days, contrasting her time as a prosecutor with Trump's felony convictions, saying “I know what type of person Donald Trump is” and positioning herself as a champion of economic opportunity and access to abortion.
“The fight for our future is also a fight for freedom,” she said. “The baton is in our hands.”
The president voiced his support for Harris during a conference call from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he is recovering from COVID-19. He is due to address the nation later this week about his decision to step down.
“While the top of the slate has changed, the mission has remained exactly the same,” Biden said in his first public remarks since announcing his decision to step down, promising he was “not going anywhere” and saying he planned to campaign in Harris' place.
“It was the right decision,” Biden said of his decision.
“I see you. I love you,” Biden added as he handed over the leadership role to Harris.
Harris headed to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday as her presidential campaign got into full swing. The Milwaukee event was her first major campaign event since announcing her candidacy.
The AP tally is interviews with individual representatives, official statements from state parties (many of which have announced their delegations' full endorsement of Harris), and official statements and endorsements from individual representatives.
Winning the nomination was just the first item on a massive political agenda for Harris, who learned of Biden's plans to drop out of the race in a Sunday morning call with the president. She also must choose a running mate and redirect the massive political operation built around Biden's reelection push to back her own candidacy.
On Sunday afternoon, the Biden campaign officially changed its name to “Harris for President,” reflecting that she will be inheriting Biden's more than 1,000 staffers and a political operation that had raised nearly $96 million as of the end of June. Her campaign said she added $81 million to that total in the first 24 hours after endorsing Biden, raising money from more than 888,000 donors — a fundraising record for a presidential campaign.
Since Harris took over the campaign, interest in the campaign has also increased, with more than 28,000 new volunteers signing up since the announcement, an average daily increase of more than 100 times that of Biden's last reelection campaign, underscoring the enthusiasm for Harris.
Harris' list of potential rivals evaporated on Monday when other big-name voters, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, declared their support.
House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, who initially advocated for strengthening the nominee through primaries and was a prominent opponent, expressed her “enthusiastic support” for Harris' efforts to lead the party.
If elected, Harris would be the first woman and the first South Asian president.
Democratic National Convention The convention is scheduled to take place in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22, but the party had announced before Biden's withdrawal that it would hold an online vote to formally nominate Biden before the in-person process begins. The convention's rules committee is meeting this week to finalize the nomination process with an online vote as early as Aug. 1, with the process expected to be completed by Aug. 7, the party announced Monday.
“We can and will act swiftly and fairly in implementing this nomination,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a conference call with reporters.
The party said the virtual roll call would select candidates multiple times if multiple candidates meet the eligibility criteria. To be eligible, candidates must receive the electronic signatures of 300 convention delegates.
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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Will Weisert in Washington and Chris Megerian in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed.
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