Harris Secures Enough Delegates to Become Democratic Party Nominee

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., on July 22, 2024. (Erin SCHAFF/POOL/AFP)

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to be named her party’s 2024 presidential nominee, according to a tally late Monday night.

Many top Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have rallied around Ms. Harris as their party’s preferred candidate to take on GOP presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), in November. President Biden stepped aside on July 21, saying he supports new party leadership going into 2025.

Several state delegations met late Monday to confirm their support for Ms. Harris, including Texas and her home state of California. By Monday night, Harris had the support of at least 2,574 delegates, according to an Epoch Times tally of delegates—more than the 1,976 majority of delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot.

However, as delegates won’t cast their official nomination until August at the Democratic National Convention, there is still a chance for new candidates to emerge and challenge Ms. Harris. The Associated Press reported that no other candidate had been named by a delegate as of Monday.

New Campaign in Full Swing

In the 24 hours since President Biden pulled out of the race, the vice president moved quickly to secure key endorsements from party leaders, win over pledged delegates the president won during the state primaries and caucuses, and establish a campaign team to take on the Trump–Vance ticket.

Ms. Harris traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, earlier in the day to rally her new campaign staff and formally accept President Joe Biden’s endorsement.

Ms. Harris said a “defining goal” of her potential presidency would involve strengthening the middle class.

“Together, we [will] fight to build a nation where every person has affordable health care, where every worker is paid fairly, and where every senior can retire with dignity,” she said.

Ms. Harris vowed to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and abortion-related legislation, as well as spearhead tighter gun control through universal background checks, red flag laws, and a ban on assault weapons.

“We are all here because we love our country, right? And we believe in our foundational principles,” she said to her staff at the beginning of her remarks. “We believe in freedom, and opportunity, and justice—not for some but for all.”

“So, over the next 1​​06 days, we are going to take our case to the American people, and we are going to win,” the vice president said.

President Biden phoned into the meeting and urged his former campaign staff to unite around Ms. Harris.

“I’m hoping you’ll give every bit of your heart and soul that you gave to me to Kamala,” he said, stressing that “the name has changed the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all.”

President Biden said that even though his name “won’t be on the ticket,” he’s “still going to be fully, fully engaged.”

Support Building

By Monday afternoon, delegates began to rally around Ms. Harris. The tally showed her securing support from at least 901 pledged delegates when nine state delegations—Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Alabama—confirmed that all of their members had voted to endorse her.

She has also received nods from Democratic Party elites, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Several of the Democrats floated as potential rivals if the party opted for an open convention Aug. 19–22 also endorsed Ms. Harris by Monday, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

However, several key Democrats stopped short of endorsing her as the party nominee, including former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a major Biden campaign donor and 2020 Democratic primary frontrunner.

“The decision is too important to rush because the election is too important to lose,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement posted to X.

Several people floated as potential running mates for Ms. Harris, including Mr. Moore and Ms. Whitmer, said they were not interested in being vice president.

Other rumored possible vice presidential candidates include Mr. Shapiro, Mr. Beshear, Mr. Cooper, and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, unanimously endorsed Ms. Harris on Monday.

“From day one, Vice President Kamala Harris has been a true partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in history,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said.

“At every step in her distinguished career in public office, she’s proven herself a principled and tenacious fighter for working people and a visionary leader we can count on.”

Comprised of 60 unions and more than 12.5 million workers, the AFL-CIO marks a major labor endorsement, key to locking in votes in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The AFL-CIO had endorsed President Joe Biden before he pulled out of the 2024 presidential race.

On Monday, Ms. Harris’s campaign had set a new record for the most presidential candidate donations within 24 hours.

T.J. Muscaro, Melanie Sun, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.