Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough votes from delegates to become her party’s nominee for president, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said Friday (local time).
The announcement was made before the online voting process ends on Monday, reflecting the breakneck speed of a campaign that is eager to maintain momentum after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his successor less than two weeks ago.
Harris is poised to be the first woman of colour at the top of a major party’s ticket, and she joined a call with supporters to say she is "honoured to be the presumptive Democratic nominee."
"It’s not going to be easy. But we’re going to get this done," she added. "As your future president, I know we are up to this fight."
Harrison pledged that Democrats "will rally around Vice President Kamala Harris and demonstrate the strength of our party" during their convention in Chicago later this month.
The Democratic National Committee did not provide details of the delegate vote count, including a number or state-by-state breakdowns, during a virtual event that had the flavour of a telethon, with campaign officials keeping tabs on a delegate-counting process whose result is a foregone conclusion.
No other candidate challenged Harris for the nomination, and she swiftly solidified Democratic support in the days after Biden endorsed her.
Supports hold up signs in support of Vice President Kamala Harris at an event in July, 2024. (Source: Associated Press)
Democrats still plan a state-by-state roll call during the party’s convention, the traditional way that a nominee is chosen. However, that will be purely ceremonial because of the online voting.
As Harris prepares to face off with Republican nominee Donald Trump, her campaign is reorganising its senior staff and bringing on a coterie of veterans of President Barack Obama's successful campaigns.
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Democratic officials have said the accelerated roll call process was necessary because of an August 7 deadline to ensure candidates appear on the Ohio ballot.
Ohio state lawmakers have since changed the deadline, but the modification doesn’t take effect until September 1. Democratic attorneys said that waiting until after the initial deadline to determine a presidential nominee could prompt a legal challenge.
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