WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has now secured the necessary Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee, following President Joe Biden’s recent decision to withdraw from the race. According to an Associated Press survey, key Democratic leaders have swiftly united behind Harris, ensuring she will face off against Republican Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
On Saturday, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris hit the campaign trail, continuing their exchanges of sharp criticisms and contrasting their visions for the nation’s future.
Harris is set to campaign in Wisconsin on Tuesday, marking her first visit to the crucial battleground state as a presidential candidate. The quick consolidation of support for Harris represents the party’s effort to move past the uncertainty surrounding Biden’s political future and to focus on defeating Trump with just over 100 days until Election Day. Prominent Democrats, party leaders, and political organizations quickly rallied behind Harris after Biden’s exit, with her campaign setting a new record for presidential donations in 24 hours on Monday.
Harris’s campaign reported raising $81 million since Biden stepped down on Sunday, nearing the $95 million that Biden’s campaign had at the end of June. State delegations, including those from Texas and her home state of California, met late Monday to confirm their support for Harris. By Monday night, Harris had secured at least 2,471 delegates, surpassing the 1,976 needed to win on the first ballot, according to the AP’s count. No other candidate received any delegate support in the AP survey.
During a fundraiser in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Harris responded to Trump’s attacks, accusing him of spreading “wild lies about my record” and calling some of the comments from him and his running mate, JD Vance, “just plain weird.”
As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Harris emphasized themes of freedom, reproductive health, and gun violence in her pitch to voters, positioning her campaign as the “underdog” in the race.
