Harris secures delegate numbers to be Democratic nominee: AP
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The news: US Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become the party’s presidential nominee for the general election in November, according to an Associated Press survey.
The numbers: By Monday night EDT, Harris had the support of at least 2,214 delegates, according to the AP tally, enough to win the nomination on the first ballot.
The survey — based on interviews with individual delegates, public statements from state parties, and endorsements from individual delegates — indicates that she has the backing of more than the 1,976 delegates she would need to win.
The context: The survey found that Harris, who was endorsed by Biden minutes after he announced he would not accept the Democratic nomination, is the overwhelming choice for her party to replace the US President at the top of the ticket, while no other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP.
However, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee as the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats hold a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for 19-22 August in Chicago. The convention’s rules committee is expected to meet this week to finalise its nomination process with a virtual vote as soon as 1 August, and the process completed by 7 August.
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.
Less than 24 hours after Biden dropped out, Harris had already secured endorsements from a series of high-profile Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear and Roy Cooper.
Harris raised over USD50 million ($75 million) in the seven hours after Biden backed her on Sunday.
What they said: Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris said: “It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” she said.
She promised to “unite our Democratic party, to unite our nation, and to win this election.”
The source: AP News
