Harris secures the Democratic presidential nomination
Harris was the sole candidate on the ballot for the five-day electronic vote among nearly 4000 delegates. "I feel honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for the office of President of the United States," said the 59-year-old, joining a party event via phone.
"We will win this election," she continued. Everyone needs to contribute to this. The message to the people should be, "that our campaign is about the future," said Harris. It's also about "expanding rights and freedoms."
Just two weeks after incumbent Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Harris has now secured the full support of the party. "Now that she's our candidate, I couldn't be prouder," President Biden congratulated Harris on Friday on the online service X. One of his best decisions, he emphasized, was choosing Harris as his vice president.
Harris' campaign team has reportedly already received donations totaling $310 million (€284 million) as of Friday. The majority of $200 million came in after Biden announced his withdrawal and his support for Harris.
According to the party headquarters, 3923 party delegates, representing 99% of participants, had signed off on Harris' presidential candidacy nomination before the vote.
Plans for the virtual vote on the presidential candidate before the convention had already been in place before Biden announced his withdrawal. These plans were justified by a law in the state of Ohio requiring presidential candidates to be officially named by August 7.
Ohio then extended the deadline to after the convention. However, Democratic party representatives expressed concern that Republicans might still apply the original deadline.
Usually, the presidential candidates of the two major U.S. parties are officially nominated at party conventions. However, the Democratic convention from August 19 to 22 in Chicago is now only there to celebrate the previously decided candidacy of Harris.
By Monday, Harris is expected to also announce her candidate for the position of vice president. She has announced that she wants to appear together with the vice-presidential candidate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.
The selection of the vice-presidential candidate is considered a strategically important decision. It's about winning potentially decisive votes in the swing states that will determine the outcome of the election.
Biden announced on July 21, after weeks of debate over his mental fitness, that he would not run in the November 5 election and instead endorsed Harris.
The personnel realignment among Democrats poses a challenge for the Republican candidate, Trump. With Biden's withdrawal, his lead in the polls also diminished. His campaign donations in July were significantly lower than Harris'.
I'm not going to abandon my campaign's focus, regardless of the challenges.I'm not going to disclose my vice-presidential pick until I'm ready to make the announcement.
