The virtual roll call to formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee began Thursday.
The Democratic National Committee’s electronic voting to choose the party’s 2024 standard-bearer came less than two weeks after President Biden ended his reelection campaign with a high-profile announcement, endorsing his vice president as his first choice to succeed him.
Unlike the Republicans, who held an in-person roll call at their convention in Milwaukee last month, the Democratic National Convention is holding a virtual roll call, which is scheduled to conclude on Monday, two weeks before the convention begins Aug. 19 at the United Center in Chicago.
Harris focuses on border security, Trump enjoys the fight
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
But as with former Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, there will be no drama as the vice president is the only candidate eligible to put his name on the nomination list by Tuesday night’s deadline.
2024 AD Wars: Trump competes to select VP Harris
Biden’s dismal performance against Trump in the debate in Atlanta in late June stoked questions about whether he was physically and mentally capable of serving in the White House for another four years.
The incident also prompted growing calls from within his own party for the 81-year-old president to end his bid for a second term in the White House.
President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, announcing his decision not to seek reelection. (Evan Vucci via The Associated Press)
Biden’s immediate endorsement of Harris sparked a surge of support for the vice president from Democratic governors, senators, representatives and other party leaders and elders. Within 36 hours, Harris had announced she had secured the party’s nomination with the verbal endorsement of a majority of the convention’s roughly 4,700 delegates.
The DNC decided to hold a virtual roll call, similar to the vote it held four years ago to nominate Biden amid the coronavirus pandemic, to formally place its candidate at the top before Ohio’s Aug. 7 polls close.
“Our delegates have a vital responsibility and opportunity over the next few days to cast their historic vote for Vice President Harris and ensure that she appears on the ballot in every state in November,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement earlier this week.
One of those five Democrats could be Harris’ running mate.
The DNC reported that 3,923 delegates had petitioned to place Harris on the Democratic nomination ballot, but no other candidate had gathered the party’s required 300 delegate signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The formal nominating vote by delegates will be conducted remotely, but the Democratic National Committee says a ceremonial roll call will take place at the convention in Chicago.
Former President Trump spoke on the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
With Harris’ nomination now in doubt, speculation has been rife over the past week about who the vice president will choose as his running mate. Harris’ campaign announced that the vice president and his soon-to-be running mate will tour seven key battleground states, starting in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
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The announcement of the vice presidential candidate could come as early as Monday evening.
Harris is expected to be announced as the nominee after the virtual roll call at 6 pm ET. Under Democratic National Convention rules, she can then announce her running mate’s name as the nominee.
According to the DNC, the convention chair will declare that candidate as the party’s vice presidential nominee.
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