US Vice President Kamala Harris secured support on Monday from a majority of delegates to the Democratic National Convention, likely ensuring she will become the party’s nominee for president next month.
President Joe Biden threw his support behind Harris on Sunday when he withdrew from the race amid questions about his age and health. He pledged to remain in office as president until his term ends on Jan. 20, 2025.
A survey of delegates showed Harris had the support of 2,538 delegates, well beyond the 1,976 needed to win the delegate vote in the coming weeks. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said on Monday the party will deliver a presidential nominee by Aug. 7.
Delegates could still change their minds before Aug. 7, but nobody else received any votes in the survey, and 57 delegates said they were undecided.
In Harris’ first public appearance since the announcement, she rallied supporters on Monday with a debut campaign speech vowing to go after Republican nominee Donald Trump like the courtroom prosecutor she once was.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their gain,” Harris told campaign workers 28 hours after President Joe Biden, 81, abandoned the 2024 White House race and endorsed her.
“So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type. In this campaign, I will proudly, I will proudly put my record against his,” said Harris, who was attorney general of California and a US senator before serving as Biden’s vice president.
