Kamala Harris now backed by more than half of delegates needed to win nomination: report

Vice President Kamala Harris is now backed by more than half the delegates she needs to clinch the nomination for president, according to the Associated Press. 

According to a Monday report, more than 1,000 delegates have told the outlet or announced publicly that they plan to support Harris at the Democratic National Convention, which is more than half of the delegates needed to win the nomination vote, according to an Associated Press survey. 

The AP notes that the survey is an unofficial tally, as Democratic delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention later in August. 

Under current Democratic Party rules, a candidate will need the support of 1,976 delegates on the first ballot of that vote to win the nomination, the AP notes. 

President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Monday and endorsed his ticket-mate, after insisting for weeks that he was ‘in it to win it.’ 

Biden’s disastrous debate performance in June first sparked skepticism that the 81-year-old politician might be unable to serve another four years – or beat former President Donald Trump in November. 

Facing dwindling poll numbers and concerns of cognitive decline, the dam of party support broke and scores of Democratic lawmakers and leaders called for Biden to step aside. 

‘My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,’ Biden said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. 

‘My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump,’ he said. 

In the 24 hours since Biden announced he was suspending his campaign, Harris raked in a staggering $81 million in fundraising, her campaign announced Monday. 

The campaign touted in an email release that the money raised was the ‘largest 24-hour raise in presidential history.’ 

And the campaign showcased that over 888,000 grassroots donors made contributions during the past day, with 60% of them making their first contribution during the 2024 election cycle. The haul includes money raised by the campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and joint-fundraising committees.’

‘The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,’ campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement. 

By comparison, former President Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced that they hauled in nearly $53 million through their online digital fundraising platform in the first 24 hours after the former president was convicted on all 34 felony counts in his criminal trial in New York City.