Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough support from Democratic delegates to become the party’s likely nominee for president. The news comes just one day after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and threw his full support behind Harris.
By Monday night, the vice president had secured the support of at least 2,579 delegates, more than the 1,976 needed to win the primary, according to the Associated Press. California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks told the agency that 75 to 80 percent of the state’s delegation had unanimously backed Harris.
“When I announced my campaign for president, I said I intended to go out and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement. “Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support necessary to become our party’s nominee,” she added. “I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.”
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention will still be able to vote for the candidate of their choice in August, and a virtual roll call will be held in which convention delegates can select a candidate before the Chicago event.
In his endorsement of Harris, released minutes after he announced Sunday that he would not run for reelection in 2024, Biden wrote that his “first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to select Kamala Harris as my vice president. It was the best decision I ever made.” He added: “Today, I want to offer my full support and endorsement to Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and defeat Trump. Let’s do it.”
While a host of leaders from across industries, from lawmakers to Hollywood, have pledged support for Harris’ presidential ticket, Trump and his allies are terrified at the prospect of Trump facing Harris instead of President Biden.
Despite being unfazed by the right-wing meltdown, Harris made her first public appearance since the president endorsed her candidacy, taking the stage to Beyoncé's “Freedom.”
“What kind of country do we want to live in: a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law?” Harris asked from her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. “Or a country of chaos, fear and hatred?”
“I have confronted perpetrators of all kinds: predators who abused women, scammers who defrauded consumers, and con artists who bent the rules to their advantage,” Harris continued. “So hear me when I say that I know the kind of Donald Trump he is. And in this campaign, I will proudly put my record up against his.”
