Campaign 2024: Kamala Harris wins Democratic presidential nomination
Vice President Kamala Harris waves to supporters during her arrival in Houston on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough votes from Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee for president, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said Friday.
The online voting process doesn’t end until Monday, but Harris’ campaign marked the moment when she crossed the threshold to have the majority of delegates’ votes.
Harris says she’s “honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee,” but she said she’ll formally accept the presidential nomination next week.
The vice president said that she’s excited about the future but “we know we have a lot of work to do.”
“The power is with the people,” Harris added. “We are going to win this election and it is going to take all of us.”
Harris has not yet chosen her running mate, and she’s expected to interview candidates over the weekend.
The formal nomination is expected to be finalized by Aug. 7 even though the party’s convention in Chicago isn’t scheduled to begin until August 19. Democratic officials have said the accelerated timeline was necessary because of an Aug. 7 deadline to ensure candidates appear on the Ohio ballot.
Friday’s announcement came as her campaign reorganized its senior staff — bringing on a new coterie of senior advisers and veterans of the successful campaigns of former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.
The campaign is bringing on David Plouffe, who was campaign manager for Obama’s 2008 presidential bid, as a senior adviser focusing on the pathway for the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win, and former Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, who will advise on messaging and strategy for the Harris campaign.
Plouffe will end his consulting efforts on behalf of TikTok, the controversial social media app, as well as a podcast with 2016 Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway that had drawn scrutiny and criticism, according to a person familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity.
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
