Democratic Party officials announced Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris is the only candidate who has won enough delegates to qualify for online voting to officially nominate the presidential candidate, a process that begins on Thursday.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Democratic National Convention Chair Mignon Moore announced that Harris has secured 3,923 delegates and will be the only candidate eligible for consideration.
The virtual roll call will begin Thursday morning and conclude Monday.
“Democratic delegates across the country have spoken out, overwhelmingly endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee,” they said in a joint statement. “As we prepare to begin virtual voting, we move forward with the final stages of the nomination process with unprecedented momentum and unity across our party.”
“We look forward to celebrating with all of our delegates in Chicago, where we will emerge in full force as a strong, united party fully focused on defeating Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in November,” they added.
The Democratic National Committee was planning to hold a virtual roll call on Thursday if only one candidate is eligible for the nomination. To qualify, a petition of support from no more than 50 delegates from a state must be signed by 300 delegates by 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Since announcing her intention to seek the nomination shortly after President Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, Harris has quickly garnered far more endorsements than the 1,976 votes needed to secure the nomination.
If the vice president wins the online vote, he will become the official candidate just weeks before the Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago on August 19. The vice president will then pre-name his running mate on August 7.
Harris said Tuesday that she has not yet chosen a running mate for the 2024 presidential election, but her campaign announced that she and her running mate plan to visit battleground states next week.
The decision to hold a virtual roll call vote before the convention stemmed from an initial plan to ensure Biden appeared on the ballot in Ohio, where a deadline for certifying presidential candidates was set after the convention. Since then, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has extended a key deadline in the state.
