- Kamala Harris has secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president.
- It took just over 24 hours for the party to unite behind Harris after Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
- Since Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris, the vice president has broken fundraising records.
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president.
As of Monday evening, CNN, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal calculated that Harris had met the 1,976 pledged delegate support threshold to secure the nomination. More support is expected to pour in.
“When I announced my campaign for President, I said that I intended to run and win the nomination,” Harris said in a statement after the news. “Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to be our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegates have helped carry our campaign to the top. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.”
Harris also expressed her gratitude to President Joe Biden and the entire Democratic party for their support and summarized the differences between her platform and that of former President Donald Trump.
“This election will present a stark choice between two opposing visions,” Harris said in a statement. “Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights. I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not only survive, but thrive.”
Harris’ bid to secure the support of a majority of Democratic delegates comes a day after Biden announced his plans to drop out of the race and his endorsement of the vice president as his choice to replace him.
Since Biden’s announcement and endorsement, Democrats have rallied behind Harris, and the vice president has raked in record-breaking donations totaling more than $81 million in a single day.
While there was early speculation that other prominent Democrats, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, might enter the race, no major figures in the party have stepped forward to challenge Harris. Instead, Whitmer has endorsed Harris.
In her first public speech since Biden dropped out of the race, Harris laid out her vision for her first term as president and emotionally thanked Biden for his service to the country and his support in the race.
He also showed his strength as a former prosecutor, saying he was ready for a tough — and possibly legal — fight against Trump.
“I fight all kinds of abusers,” Harris said, addressing campaign staff in Delaware on Monday. “Predators who abuse women, con artists who cheat consumers, cheaters who bend the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say — I know Donald Trump’s type.”
