Harris working to gain support among delegates

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - President Joe Biden is out of the 2024 race and Vice President Kamala Harris is working to take his place. 

The Democratic Convention is just about a month away and Vice President Harris is trying to win the nomination. 

With President Biden withdrawing, his Democratic delegates are free to vote for whoever they want as the party's new nominee. 

To become the official Democratic nominee, the Democratic National Committee says the candidate has to win the votes of 1,976 delegates. George Washington University Professor Peter Loge says now it's up to the DNC to lay out the path ahead.

"You're now going to have a relative handful of people, who are relative insiders, making a decision for the rest of the voters," Loge said. "Who the nominees are and how the voting process happens is what the DNC has to figure out."

Right now, the vice president doesn't have any competition. The top Democrats discussed as potential candidates say they aren't running and endorsed Harris instead. 

"If there are no credible alternatives to Vice President Harris, the process has to be transparent and clear, but it won't be terribly contentious," Loge said. 

The vice president is stacking up support among delegates too. So far, more than 700 say they plan to vote for her. That's over a third of the delegates she needs to win the nomination. 

Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried says a large majority of Florida's delegates are among those who have pledged to vote for Harris. 

"You're seeing Democrats across the country moves swiftly to organize and to unite behind Kamala Harris," Fried said. "She is the most qualified person to serve as president." 

Lawmakers are rallying behind her too. Dozens of Democrats in Congress have released statements backing Harris. 

Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is one of them. He predicts the contest will be over quickly. 

"Kamala said 'look, I want to earn this nomination between now and the convention' and I believe she's going to. I'm strongly supporting her," Kaine said.