Kamala Harris likely has enough delegates to secure Democrat nomination

Not even 48 hours after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his bid for a second term in office, Vice President Kamala Harris may have already secured enough delegate votes to become the Democratic Party's nominee for president in the 2024 election.

On Monday, the AP published the results of a survey it had conducted, asking Democratic delegates whom they intend to support for their party's nomination. The choice was clear: More than 2,600 delegates said they planned to cast their votes for Harris, well beyond the 1,976 threshold needed to win the nomination.

'When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination.'

Just 54 delegates professed to be undecided. None of the delegates who spoke with the AP named another possible candidate.

Despite the lopsided survey results, the outlet still declined to declare Harris the "presumptive" Democratic nominee. For one thing, responses to surveys are not binding, and delegates still have to cast their votes officially — either at the upcoming Democratic National Convention or the "virtual roll call" that the party promised to hold in early August.

Plus, another candidate needs just 300 electronic signatures from convention delegates to qualify for the first round of voting. With several high-profile Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), declining to endorse anyone in the race, a dark horse candidate could yet emerge.

Such possibilities appear remote at this point, though — so remote, in fact, that Harris has already declared victory. Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, she posted a message on social media, claiming she had "earned the support needed to become [her] party’s nominee."

In a statement attached to the post, Harris reiterated the idea that she had "earned" the nomination. "When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination," she said.

Harris did quickly garner support among her party in the hours after Biden bowed out. This truncated campaign in summer 2024 went much better than her first campaign for president nearly five years ago, when she announced her candidacy to much fanfare only to withdraw before the first Democratic primary votes were cast, citing lack of funds.

"My campaign for president simply doesn't have the financial resources we need to continue," she said in December 2019.

For the moment, Harris may have many campaign problems — including a history of bailing violent suspects out of custody and a seeming inability to connect with voters on a personal level — but money isn't one of them. The Biden campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, indicating that she will inherit the Biden campaign's $96 million war chest. Another $81 million from donors has likewise poured into her coffers in the last couple of days.

"Over the next few months, I'll be traveling across the country talking to Americans about everything on the line. I fully intend to unite our party and our nation, and defeat Donald Trump," Harris pledged.

Harris will soon need to select a vice presidential candidate, and three swing-state governors appear to be on the short list of contenders: Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona has also been mentioned.

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