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Vice President Kamala Harris has enough support from Democratic delegates to secure the party’s 2024 presidential nomination, just one day after President Joe Biden’s historic decision to suspend his re-election campaign.
Harris, 59, has the support of more than the 1,976 pledged delegates needed to formally win the nomination during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month, according to CNN’s delegate estimate and an Associated Press survey conducted on Monday, July 22.
Several state delegations met Monday night to voice their support for Harris, including her home state of California. However, convention delegates can still vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention or during a virtual roll call vote, if the Democratic Party calls one before the event.
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“When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination,” Harris said in a statement on Monday. “Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.”
Harris went on to say she was “grateful” to Biden, 81, and other members of the Democratic Party who have “already put their faith in me.”
Biden announced his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, July 21 and quickly endorsed his vice president. The decision came after weeks of concern over his age, which arose after his performance during the first 2024 presidential debate against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.
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“I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me,” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”
Harris later said she was “honored” to have Biden’s endorsement, adding she intends to “earn and win” the Democratic presidential nomination.
Hours after Biden made his announcement, Harris and Biden filed documents with the Federal Election Commission to officially change the name of the campaign to “Harris for President.”
The Democratic National Convention is set to start on Aug. 19. However, the Democratic National Committee said it will continue with a process to set the party’s nominee by Aug. 7, reports CNN.
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“While this situation is unprecedented, the process we are prepared to undertake is not,” Democratic National Convention Chair Minyon Moore said Monday, per CNN. “We have important deadlines to meet. We will make sure the process is fair, because, as it stands, no candidate has secured a majority of the delegates to the convention.”
Harris’ first major campaign event since launching her campaign for presidency is set for Tuesday, July 23, in Milwaukee.