Top Democrats announced Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris was the only candidate to win enough delegates to qualify for the virtual call to nominate their official presidential nominee, a process that will begin Thursday.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Democratic National Convention Chairman Minyon Moore announced that Harris won 3,923 delegates and would be the only candidate to be considered.
The virtual call will begin on Thursday morning and end on Monday.
“Democratic delegates from across the country made their voices heard, overwhelmingly supporting Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee,” the two said in a joint statement. “As we prepare to open voting in our virtual call, we move into this final phase of our nomination process with unprecedented momentum and unity across our party.”
“We look forward to celebrating together with all of our delegates in Chicago, where we will show up in full force as a strong, united Party focused on defeating Donald Trump and JD Vance in November,” they added.
The DNC planned to hold a virtual roll call vote like Thursday if only one candidate qualified for the nomination, with a qualification deadline that requires 300 delegates to sign a petition of support with a maximum of 50 delegates from any state, up to 6 Tuesday afternoon.
Harris quickly gained the support of more than 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination, as she announced her intention to seek the nomination shortly after President Biden dropped out of the race on July 21.
The vice president, if she wins the virtual vote, will be the official nominee weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention, on August 19, in Chicago. She is then expected to name her running mate in advance on August 7th.
Harris said Tuesday that she has not yet chosen her running mate for the 2024 ticket, but she and her running mate are expected to travel to swing states next week, her campaign announced.
The decision to hold a virtual roll call vote before the convention stems from plans initially made to ensure Biden appeared on the ballot in Ohio, which had a deadline to certify the party’s presidential nominee before the convention. Since then, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has extended the prime deadline in his state.
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