Kamala Harris has enough backing to officially become the Democratic nominee
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has reached enough delegate support to secure her nomination as the Democratic Party's nominee for the November presidential election.
However, Harris would not officially become the Democrats' presidential nominee until delegates formally vote in a virtual roll call vote that is expected to conclude before 7 August. To win the nomination in the first round of voting, a challenger needs the backing of at least 1,976 delegates out of 4,000.
According to an Associated Press count, Harris has won the support of more than the required 1,976 delegates, including several state delegations such as those from Texas and her home state of California.
After Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and announced his "full support" for his Vice President, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and like-minded political organisations took a stand for Harris, who could become the first woman president of the United States.
The campaign, which has now formally changed its name to "Harris for President", has seen a surge of interest following Biden's withdrawal, with more than 28,000 new volunteers registering since Harris took office.
In addition, Harris' election campaign has received 81 million dollars in the first 24 hours after Biden's endorsement - a presidential fundraising record - with contributions from more than 888,000 donors.
Harris, a former California attorney general and former senator, is not the first time she has run for the Democratic presidential nomination. She already tried in 2020, when Biden, who chose her as vice president, won.
Harris has positioned herself as a staunch defender of abortion rights, an issue that has brought her closer to younger and more liberal Democrats. If formally elected, she is expected to follow Biden's foreign policy on issues such as China, Iran and Ukraine, though she could take a tougher tone with Israel over the Gaza war if she leads the Democratic ticket and wins the November election.
Supporters argue that she could unite Democratic voters, consolidate support among African-Americans and be able to debate former president Donald Trump.
However, as POLITICO reports, some Democrats are concerned about Harris' candidacy, as polls show that the vice president does not do better statistically than Biden against Trump.
An NBC News poll earlier this month showed Trump outperforming Biden - 45% to 43% - while Trump led Harris by an identical two-point margin, 47% to 45%.
On the other hand, the US newspaper notes that his failure during the 2020 presidential campaign hinted at some difficulties in articulating a coherent ideology or consistent positions on the issues, the most notorious being his contradictory and constantly evolving stance on health care.
Once in office as vice president, Harris's tenure has been questioned and there has been talk of tensions between her and Biden's inner circle.
Despite the challenges, her supporters expect Harris to garner strong support from women and African-American Democrats for her presidential nomination, uniting the party as Biden did in 2020.
Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Harris ran a series of campaigns that honed her speaking skills and successfully linked the fight for abortion rights to the broader fight for freedom. These efforts helped the Democratic Party do better than expected.
