WASHINGTON – The Democratic National Committee announced overdue Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris had received the support of 99% of delegates following the conclusion of five days of virtual voting, officially becoming the party’s presidential nominee.
The results, which included a state-by-state breakdown, followed the DNC’s announcement on Friday that Harris had exceeded the number of delegates needed to be nominated as a candidate when voting continued. She was the only candidate to qualify. The DNC said 4,567 delegates cast their votes for her.
The next steps will be confirmation of the roll calls by party secretary Jason Rae and acceptance of the nomination by Harris and her running mate, who had still not been named early Tuesday.
There will also be a ceremonial roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month.
“With the support of 99% of all participating delegates in the virtual roll call, Vice President Harris has historic momentum behind her as we take the final steps to officially confirm her as our party’s nominee,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNCC Chair Minyon Moore said in a statement. “We thank the thousands of delegates from across the country who have taken their responsibility seriously throughout this process to make their voices – and the voices of their communities – heard. As we prepare to confirm the nomination alongside Party Secretary Rae, we know that we are all part of an important piece of history.”
On the way to election day
Harris and her vice presidential candidate have less than 100 days left to campaign before November 5.
She is embarking on a swing-state tour, with the two holding rallies in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday, North Carolina on Thursday, Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Saturday. The Associated Press reported A stop in Georgia was postponed due to Hurricane Debby and the performance in North Carolina could be affected.
Harris did not participate in a Democratic primary this election cycle, which could potentially hurt her. However, she introduced herself to voters in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and held public events throughout her term as vice president.
Debate about debates
Until Tuesday, it did not look like Harris would participate in a debate between herself and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump before November 5. This would have given Harris the opportunity to present her political goals and personality to a wider range of voters.
Trump and the Biden team agreed to two debates – the first in June, hosted by CNN, and led to widespread Lack of confidence in Biden’s insight, and a second on September 10, moderated by ABC News.
The Trump team had been non-committal about a debate with Harris since Biden announced his withdrawal as the likely nominee in July and endorsed Harris as the frontrunner.
Harris for President co-chair Cedric Richmond said in a statement released Friday that Trump must “pull himself together” and attend the previously agreed-upon debate on September 10.
“He has no problem spewing lies and hateful garbage at his rallies or in interviews with right-wing commentators. But he is apparently too afraid to do so when he is on stage facing the Vice President of the United States,” Richmond said. “If he’s going to talk like that, he should follow through with his actions and – as Vice President Harris said earlier this week – tell her to her face on September 10th. She will be there waiting to see if he shows up.”
Trump posted on social media over the weekend that he would only participate in a Fox News debate on September 4, even though neither the Biden nor Harris campaign teams had ever agreed to participate in a Fox debate.
“Kamala Harris does not have the mental capacity to fight me in a REAL debate scheduled for September 4th in Pennsylvania,” Trump posted. “I will see her on September 4th, or I will not see her at all.”
Who is Kamala Harris?
Harris was born in Oakland, California, in October 1964. She graduated from Howard University, a traditionally African-American school, in 1986 before earning her law degree from the University of California in 1989.
Harris served as an assistant district attorney in Alameda County, California from 1990 to 1998. She continued her career as a prosecutor when she moved to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she served as a supervising attorney.
She served for a time as chief of the Children and Families Division of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and as San Francisco District Attorney before California voters elected her Attorney General in 2010.
The residents of the Golden State then elected Harris to the U.S. Senate in 2016, where she remained until she was sworn in as vice president in January 2021.
Harris ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2020 primaries, but withdrew two months before voting began.
Attendance control, keynote speech
Harris is scheduled to deliver the convention’s keynote address on Aug. 22, the final night of the convention in Chicago. She will likely speak to the largest audience she will see in person and on television until election night.
This will be an excellent opportunity for them to speak directly to the centrist and undecided voters who will determine the outcome of the November elections, including control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
If Harris wins the Electoral College, she will be the country’s first female president, the first president of South Asian descent and the second black president when she is inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
