Vice President Kamala Harris inched closer to the Democratic nomination for the presidential race after enough Democratic convention delegates pledged to support her. Her first campaign as a presidential candidate will be in Wisconsin, a crucial state, on Tuesday.
A day after she became the Democratic party's presumptive nominee, Harris reportedly won the endorsement of 2,500 delegates, well over the
1,976 needed to win a vote in the coming weeks. This signals that Harris's position as a nominee is relatively unchallenged with no other candidates vieing for the nomination so far.
Those who endorsed her include Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., announced he would not seek the nomination himself, which he had been considering just a day earlier. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, also endorsed Harris on Monday.
Also read: The wonder that is Kamala Harris
Harris became the party's presumed nominee after President Joe Biden withdrew from his re-election campaign on Sunday.
In her first public remark since the announcement at the White House Monday, Harris said she's "deeply, deeply grateful" to Mr. Biden for his "service to his nation" and called his legacy "unmatched in modern history."
She also released a statement which said she intended to go out and earn this nomination. "Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party's nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state's delegation helped put our campaign over the top. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon."
Later at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris hit out at Trump, drawing on her time as a prosecutor before she ran for office in California. "I took on perpetrators of all kinds," she said, including "predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain." "So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type," she added.
While Biden officially transferred the campaign money of $96 million to Harris, many other donors too have pledged to open the "floodgates." The Harris campaign also announced it has raised more than $80 million since Biden's withdrawal.
The main pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, meanwhile confirmed that it had secured $150 million in new commitments from donors who were previously stalled, uncertain or uncommitted.
