According to a count by the Associated Press (AP) news agency, Harris has already won 2,214 delegates, well above the simple majority of 3,936 delegates. In the election campaign, she wants to focus on abortion rights, stricter gun laws and strengthening the middle class.
In a statement, Harris thanked the delegates for their support. “I look forward to officially accepting the nomination soon,” she said. Harris stressed that she was proud that the delegates from her home state of California had helped her overcome the hurdle. According to media reports, the support of the many delegates from the most populous state in the USA is mainly due to the influential top Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who represents a Californian constituency as a congresswoman.
The official nomination will take place at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22. The party plans to nominate a candidate by August 7, it said on Monday (local time). A virtual vote is planned from August 1 to 5 in order to complete the process on time by August 7.
Video: Kamala Harris presents her goals
In her first campaign speech since President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Harris announced that she wanted to make abortion rights a central part of her presidential campaign against Donald Trump. “We will fight for reproductive freedom, knowing that if Trump gets the chance, he will sign an abortion ban to ban abortion in every single (federal) state,” Harris said. Trump, who is the Republican presidential candidate, compared Harris to “predators” and “con artists.” Referring to her time as a prosecutor in California, she said: “In that role, I have taken on all kinds of offenders. Predators who have abused women. (…) Con artists who have broken the rules for their own benefit.” She knows what kind of guy Trump is, Harris said, and was confident of victory: “We will win.”
US President Biden announced on Sunday that he would not run for the presidential election in November for health reasons. The 81-year-old had come under increasing criticism after a weak performance in a TV debate against Trump. Biden said he now supports his vice president. “I will do whatever she asks me to do,” Biden said in a speech broadcast via telephone conference.
Biden described his withdrawal as the “right thing to do”. “I know yesterday’s news is surprising and hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” said the US President. In the coming weeks, Biden announced that he would be “fully involved”. “I’ll be out there campaigning with Kamala,” he said.
In the last months of his term in office, he wants to work for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. “I will work very closely with the Israelis and the Palestinians to find out how we can end the Gaza war, create peace in the Middle East and bring all the hostages home,” he continued.
The Vice President, however, is sticking with the current leadership of her campaign team. Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez will continue to lead the team, Harris said.