WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee announced tardy Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris had won 99% of delegates and formally became the party’s presidential nominee at the conclusion of five days of virtual voting.
The results, which include a state-by-state breakdown, were released after the DNC announced Friday that Harris He exceeded number of delegates needed to win the nomination when the ballot was cast. She was the only candidate to qualify. The DNC reported that 4,567 delegates voted for her.
The next step will be for convention secretary Jason Rae to approve the roster and for Harris and her vice presidential candidate, whose names had not yet been determined as of Tuesday morning, to accept the nominations.
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 delegates participating in the virtual roll call, Vice President Harris has historic momentum behind her as we take the final steps to officially endorse 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 took their responsibility seriously throughout this process to make their voices — and the voices of their communities — heard. As we prepare to endorse the nomination with Convention 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 running mate will have less than 100 days to campaign before November 5.
He is embarking on a swing-state tour that will include Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday, North Carolina on Thursday, Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Saturday. The Associated Press reported the Georgia stop was postponed due to Hurricane Debby, and the North Carolina show may be disrupted.
Harris has not contested the Democratic primary this cycle, which could potentially limit her reach. However, she introduced herself to voters during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and has held public events throughout her time as vice president.
Debate of debates
It was not known Tuesday that Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would debate each other before Nov. 5, which would give her a chance to showcase her policies and personality to a broader range of voters.
Trump and the Biden campaign have agreed to two debates — the first in June, hosted by CNN, and led to widespread lack of confidence in Biden’s cognitive abilities and the second on September 10, hosted by ABC News.
The Trump campaign has been tight-lipped about a debate with Harris since Biden announced in July that he was stepping down as presumptive nominee and backed Harris to take the lead.
Cedric Richmond, co-chair of Harris for President, said in a statement Friday that Trump “needs to get his act together” and attend the previously agreed-upon debate on Sept. 10.
“He has no problem spewing lies and hateful garbage at rallies or in interviews with right-wing commentators. But he’s clearly afraid to do it while standing across from the vice president of the United States,” Richmond said. “If he’s going to talk, he should act and — as Vice President Harris said earlier this week — say it to her face on September 10th. He’ll be there to see if she shows up.”
Trump posted on social media over the weekend that he would not participate in the Fox News debate until September 4, though neither the Biden campaign nor Harris have agreed to participate in the Fox debate.
“Kamala Harris does not have the mental capacity to have a REAL debate with me scheduled for September 4th in Pennsylvania,” Trump wrote. “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 historically black college, in 1986 and earned a law degree from the University of California in 1989.
Harris served as an assistant district attorney in Alameda County, California, from 1990 to 1998. Her prosecutorial career continued when she moved to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she became chief legal officer.
She served as head of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division of Children and Families and as San Francisco District Attorney before California voters elected her attorney general in 2010.
The Golden State elected Harris to the U.S. Senate in 2016, where she served until being sworn in as vice president in January 2021.
Harris ran for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in the 2020 primaries but withdrew two months before voting began.
Appeal, inaugural speech
Harris is scheduled to deliver the convention’s opening speech on Aug. 22, the final night of the Chicago convention. She will likely address the largest audience she has ever met in person, and will be televised until election night.
It will be a perfect opportunity for her to appeal directly to centrist and undecided voters who will decide 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 vote, she would become the nation’s first female president, the first president of South Asian descent, and the second black president. She will be inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
