WASHINGTON: US Vice President Kamala Harris said late on Monday (Jul 22) that she had secured the broad support needed to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for the upcoming presidential election.
“I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon,” Harris said in a statement, adding that “tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee.”
President Joe Biden threw his support behind Harris on Sunday when he withdrew from the race amid questions about his age and health. He pledged to remain in office as president until his term ends on Jan 20, 2025.
According to CNN’s delegate estimate, Harris has the support of enough Democratic delegates to win the party’s nomination for president.
An Associated Press (AP) survey of delegates also showed Harris had the support of 2,538 delegates, well beyond the 1,976 needed to win the delegates vote in the coming weeks.
But AP has not called Harris the new presumptive nominee.
Delegates could still change their minds before Aug 7, but nobody else received any votes in the AP survey, and 57 delegates said they were undecided.
Convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug 19 to Aug 22 in Chicago.
The convention’s rules committee is scheduled to meet this week to finalise its nomination process with a virtual vote as soon as Aug 1, the party announced on Monday, with the process completed by Aug 7.
The party said the virtual roll call would feature multiple rounds of voting on nominees if multiple candidates meet the qualification threshold. To qualify, candidates must have the electronic signatures of 300 convention delegates.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said on Monday the party will deliver a presidential nominee by Aug 7.
