Harris closes in on Democratic nomination

The US vice president has become her party’s presumptive nominee without winning a single public vote

US Vice President Kamala Harris has won the votes of enough Democratic delegates to become the party’s presidential nominee, the Democratic National Committee announced on Friday.

A majority of the Democratic Party’s 3,904 delegates cast their votes for Harris by phone or email on Friday, ensuring that she will be the party’s nominee by the time the ‘virtual roll call’ vote closes on Monday, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement.

“With the support of more than 50% of all delegates just one day into voting, Vice-President Harris has the overwhelming backing of the Democratic party and will lead us united in our mission to defeat Donald Trump in November,” Harrison said.

Harrison did not reveal how many delegates had voted for Harris, but with a majority of these delegates already pledging their support as of last week, the result was a foregone conclusion.

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Harris was endorsed by President Joe Biden to run for the White House in his place, after he suspended his reelection campaign late last month. With the delegates’ support secured, she will officially be confirmed as the Democratic nominee at the party’s convention in Chicago on August 19.

Once confirmed, Harris will be the first presidential candidate in 56 years to run for the White House without ever competing in a primary election. Harris’ first bid for the presidency fizzled out in 2019 with her polling numbers in the low single digits, and she has struggled with low approval ratings throughout her vice presidency. Multiple polls have found Harris to be the least popular vice president in modern US history.

The DNC has come under fire for refusing to hold a snap primary election, or an open convention in which multiple candidates can compete for the nomination. Much of this criticism has come from conservatives, although the Black Lives Matter movement – long aligned with the Democratic party – issued a statement last week slamming the party’s “blatant disregard for democratic principles.”

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“Democratic Party elites and billionaire donors are attempting to manipulate black voters by anointing Kamala Harris and an unknown vice president as the new Democratic ticket without a primary vote by the public,” the group declared.

In a phone call with supporters on Friday, Harris said that she is “honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.” 

“As your future president, I know we are up to this fight, and when we fight – everyone will say in unison – we win!” she added, apparently misreading directions on her pre-prepared script.