Kamala Harris wins enough delegates to win Democratic nod

Vice President Kamala Harris appears set to make history yet again as the first Indian American and African American presidential candidate after winning enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.

By Monday evening, the daughter of two immigrants, an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, had been backed by well more than the 1,976 pledged delegates she’ll need to win the nomination on the first ballot, according to CNN’s delegate estimate.

And after the freezing of donor cash helped force President Joe Biden out of the race, Democratic wallets opened again to help Harris rake in more than $100 million between Sunday and Monday evening, according to a campaign official cited by CNN, boasting more than 1.1 million unique donors – 62% of them first-time contributors.

In a rousing speech Monday afternoon, Harris rallied campaign staff at their Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters with Biden – still recovering from Covid-19 – calling in to solidify the transition.

After laying out her prosecutorial case against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, Harris cast the contest as “two different versions of what we see as the future of our country.”

Perhaps most significantly, she also notched the endorsement of her fellow Californian, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose backdoor maneuvering was critical to ending Biden’s stalled reelection bid.

More than 300 California delegates voted Monday to back Harris during a private Zoom call, after Pelosi urged party activists to unite in solidarity, calling for the entire delegation to support Harris for nomination, according to Politico.

Pelosi said Harris’ candidacy has led to a “groundswell” of enthusiasm and boosted Democrats’ odds across the country, Politico reported citing a recording of the call. None of the delegates on the call objected to the vote.

READ: Indian American bodies endorse Kamala Harris for President (July 22, 2024)

State delegations Leo moved in rapid succession to back Harris over the first 36 hours after President Joe Biden announced Sunday he was stepping aside and supporting the vice president instead, according to the political news site.

Delegations in more than a dozen states held meetings since then to formalize their support — including in New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Nebraska, Alaska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, Indiana, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

More states’ delegates are expected to follow with Harris enlisting her 2020 Leadership Committee to help call delegates.

Harris needs to win a simple majority of the nearly 4,000 convention delegates to officially lock up the nomination. If she fails to do so on the first round of voting, “automatic” delegates — elected officials, former presidents and party luminaries — can participate in subsequent rounds until a majority is reached.

Delegates could begin voting on the party’s presidential and vice presidential picks as early as next week, under a draft plan released Monday by the Democratic National Committee.

Earlier, endorsements from a series of governors Monday morning — JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Wes Moore of Maryland and Andy Beshear of Kentucky — effectively ended talk of a serious contest for the party’s nomination after Biden’s sudden decision Sunday to drop out of the race.

On Sunday, several potential challengers — Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gavin Newsom of California as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — all publicly backed Harris.

READ: Biden bows out, endorses Kamala Harris for president (July 21, 2024)

It now appears that the race is for the second spot on a Harris ticket. Harris began making calls to elected officials Sunday, and at least two potential running mates — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Beshear — confirmed on Monday that they had spoken.

Meanwhile, majority of Democrats believe the party should nominate Harris for the presidential ticket, according to a new CBS News/YouGov Poll, released Monday. It found 79%of Democrats support the party nominating Harris to top the 2024 ticket, while 21% said someone else should be nominated.

The poll, taken just after Biden announced he would withdraw from the race, found about 83% of Democratic voters approving his decision with just 17% disapproving.

About 45% of party voters said their chances of defeating Trump are “better” without Biden in the race, while 10% said their chances are “worse,” the poll found. Another 17% said the chances were not changed and 28% said it depends on the nominee.

The survey also suggested that Biden’s decision to step aside may prompt more voters to head to the polls this November, with 39% of Democrats stating they are more motivated to vote now that the president is out of the race. About 49% said it did not change their motivation and 6% said it made them less motivated.

The CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted July 21-22 among 1,071 registered voters who identify as Democrats. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.