Kamala Harris secures enough delegates to become presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential elections
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for president if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News' reporting.
Harris secures the nomination
On Monday evening, Vice President Harris announced that she had secured the support needed to become the Democratic Party nominee, surpassing the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting. “When I announced my campaign for president, I said I intended to get that nomination. "Tonight, I'm proud to have secured the broad support necessary to become our party's nominee, and as a daughter of California, I'm proud that my home state's delegation helped cross that threshold," Harris said, according to an ABCNews statement.
Kamala Harris has the support of enough Democratic delegates to win the party’s nomination for president, according to CNN’s delegate estimate. While endorsements from delegates continue to come in, the vice president has now been backed by well more than the 1,976 pledged delegates she’ll need to win the nomination on the first ballot.
Harris crossed the threshold amid a wave of endorsements from state delegations Monday evening.
These endorsements are not binding and with President Joe Biden out of the race, delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice. CNN’s count comes from public statements of support from delegates and state delegations, CNN reporting and conversations with delegates. Endorsements from state delegations are counted as unanimous support for Harris absent other information.
“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 said in a statement from her campaign late Monday.
Biden’s decision
President Joe Biden maintained a brave face. Publicly, he vowed he was all in, until the day he got out. But there were telling indications he was listening to that beat long before he ended his campaign for reelection. One sign was over a week ago, when Chuck Schumer visited his Delaware beach house as an emissary of gloom.
The Senate majority leader had spoken with Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, a few days earlier. He had heard from nearly every Democratic senator, pinging him over the last three weeks on his old-school flip phone, reports Associated Press.
One insider said Biden “began to come to a decision on Saturday evening,” in the company of four close advisers. Things moved quickly Sunday. Biden gave South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn early word he would be stepping aside, in what the congressman called a “very pleasant conversation.” He did not speak with Pelosi at the time. In a hooded Howard University sweatshirt, workout sweats and sneakers, Vice President Kamala Harris held several conversations with Biden and as the day wore on, spent over 10 hours on the phone with more than 100 politicians and some activists. She knew she would get the huge boost of Biden’s endorsement, yet needed to be seen as earning the nomination in her own right, writes Associated Press.
But as questions about Biden’s acuity rolled into the first weekend after the debate, most lawmakers’ phones — including those of the top rungs of congressional leadership — remained silent from the one person who could quell the unease: the president himself. Even midway through the next week, Biden had not spoken with leading lawmakers, spreading frustration and panic through party ranks as many tried to relax at home and prepare for Independence Day celebrations. Two days before the Fourth of July, Texas Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett, 77, became the first Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw from the race. A long-serving, but low-key member, Doggett did not prompt a mass move from the Democratic caucus, but it was also a telltale sign of the rippling crisis, writes Associated Press.
Harris' future plans
After gaining the support to become the Democratic Party nominee, Harris expressed her gratitude for the support she received from President Joe Biden and those in the Democratic Party who had already endorsed her. "This election will present a clear choice between two different visions. Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time when many of us did not have equal freedoms and rights. I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom and ensures that every person has the opportunity to not just survive, but thrive," Harris said, according to ABCNews.
Harris announced that she will continue to travel the country in the coming months, talking to Americans about the stakes of this election. "I fully intend to unite our party, unite our nation and defeat Donald Trump in November," she concluded, according to ABCNews.
Under the plan presented by Democratic officials, delegates are expected to vote virtually to confirm Harris' candidacy by Aug. 7. The Democratic National Committee has long made clear that it is committed to securing its nominee before the in-person convention begins on Aug. 19 — and specifically, before Aug. 7 to ensure ballot access in all states and to avoid the risk of litigation, according to CNN.
With these actions, Kamala Harris strengthens her position in the presidential race and prepares to take over the leadership of the Democratic campaign against former President Donald Trump in the November 2024 election.
