Kamala Harris officially secures Democratic nomination for President

United States Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured a majority of the pledged delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, officially making her the party’s presidential nominee and concluding an unprecedented process after the former Democratic standard-bearer dropped out less than two weeks ago.

The more than 4000 convention delegates had until Monday to submit their ballots, but no other candidate qualified to challenge Harris, making her selection all but certain. Still, the formal nomination ascent of the first woman of colour to lead a presidential ticket marks a milestone for a nation long riven by racial and gender issues.

“I am honoured to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States,” Harris said on a call with supporters. “And I will tell you the tireless work of our delegates, our state leaders and staff has been pivotal in making this moment possible.”

The announcement was made moments before by Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison, who noted Harris crossed the threshold just a day after online balloting began. The vote is being held open through Monday.

“The fact that we can say today – just one day after we opened voting – that the Vice-President has crossed the majority threshold and will officially be our nominee next week, folks, that is simply outstanding,” Harrison said.

US President Joe Biden bowed out of the race for re-election on July 21. Photo / Getty Images

After President Joe Biden abruptly bowed out of the race on July 21 and endorsed Harris, Democratic leaders scrambled to create a nomination process that did not rely on state primary contests, all of which Biden had already won. The new nomination contest allowed anyone to run if they obtained 300 signatures of delegates supporting their bid, including no more than 50 from any single delegation, while meeting other basic qualifications.

With top party officials seeking to rally the party to confront the candidacy of Donald Trump, no elected Democratic politician besides Harris announced their intention to seek those signatures. The candidates who did signal their intent to seek the nomination failed to obtain the required signatures.

The Democratic National Committee said that 3923 delegates had petitioned to put Harris on the ballot for the nomination, a large majority of the total delegate pool.

Party leaders decided months ago, when Biden was still expected to be the nominee, to use a virtual vote to finalise the nomination, rather than waiting for the party convention in Chicago on August 19-22. They said the early nomination was needed because legal ambiguities in Ohio’s early deadlines meant Biden could be kept off the ballot in that state.

Ohio ultimately amended its timeline for ballot qualification, but the Democrats stuck to their plans for a virtual nomination. Under the party’s rules, delegates do not need to vote on Harris’ vice-presidential selection.

Democratic convention planners are preparing a symbolic roll call for prime-time television coverage in Chicago, with representatives of each state offering their votes for Harris in a customised fashion.

Harris becomes just the second person of colour in America’s nearly 250-year history to head a major presidential ticket, after Barack Obama in 2008. Harris is black and Indian American.

Trump has recently attacked her identity and suggested she formerly downplayed her black heritage, an assertion for which there is no evidence.

Harris will also be the second female major-party nominee after Hillary Clinton in 2016, when Clinton lost to Trump in a contest that stunned Democrats and upended the political landscape.