WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for president, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison announced Friday.
The remote voting process continues until Monday, but the electoral team announced that the threshold needed to secure a majority of delegates' votes was passed.
Ms. Harris is now expected to become the first official major-party presidential candidate who is of African-American and Southeast Asian descent.
“I am honored to be the expected Democratic nominee,” Ms. Harris said during a call with supporters.
Mr. Harrison said “we will rally around Vice President Kamala Harris and demonstrate the strength of our party” during this month's convention in Chicago.
Democrats are continuing the virtual voting process to nominate Ms. Harris as their official nominee, bringing a close to ending a process that was marred by President Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election.
Delegates to the Democratic National Assembly began voting Thursday through a secure email link, and voting will remain open until Monday evening. Ms. Harris has not yet selected a running mate and is expected to interview potential candidates over the weekend.
The official appointment is expected to be finalized by August 7, although the meeting in Chicago will begin in two weeks. Democratic officials have said the expedited process was necessary because of Ohio's August 7 deadline to register candidates.
Vice President Harris' candidacy was endorsed by President Biden shortly after he himself withdrew from the race, putting Ms. Harris on the front lines of the campaign to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump. She was unchallenged by other major candidates from within the Democratic Party, and she was the only choice for delegates. According to party rules, the support of at least 300 delegates is needed, with no more than 50 signatures from a single state's delegate pool.
Delegates who wish to vote for someone else will simply be registered as “present”.
Democrats will still hold a voice vote for each state during the convention, however — the traditional way of selecting the official nominee. However, this will be purely ceremonial due to virtual voting being organized in advance.
The Democratic Party insists it must have decided on its presidential candidate before the convention opens in Chicago on August 19 to ensure Ohio deadlines are met. This argument is opposed by the Republicans of this state.
Ohio state lawmakers have already changed the deadline, but the change doesn't take effect until Sept. 1. Democratic Party legal advisers warn that waiting beyond the initial deadline to determine the presidential nominee could lead to legal challenges.
