Kamala Harris has the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Presidential race, as per sources. President Joe Biden dropped out of the race with an announcement on X and backed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him at the top of the ticket. Her campaign said she had secured enough delegates within 36 hours of Biden dropping out with a number of delegates endorsing Harris including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who continues to play an influential role. “We’re very excited about praising his legacy and electing Kamala Harris president,” said the former House Speaker.
Kamala Harris needs 1976 delegates to support her so that she secures the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August. Sources have told Reuters that she has the backing of over 2500. When Harris reached the Democratic campaign headquarters, President Joe Biden dialled in to announce his support to her. “I want to say to the team, embrace her. She’s the best,” Biden was heard saying. “It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” Harris told the Democratic campaign headquarters amid loud cheers. “So in the next 106 days, we have work to do. We have doors to knock on. We have people to talk to. We have phone calls to make. And we have an election to win.”
From the time Biden bowed out and she stepped in, her campaign has managed to raise close to $81 million. Some Democrats who had stayed away following their own doubts about the viability of Biden in the race are back to support Harris on the ticket.
Kamala Harris will campaign in Wisconsin, a key battleground state, for the first time as a presidential candidate. It will be an important opportunity to hear and see her in action in a state that is important when it comes to the final outcome, just like other Rust-belt states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, where Biden was trailing behind Trump.
All eyes are also on who she picks to be her running mate. There’s a long list of probables that include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer among others.