The US Vice President Kamala Harris has received sufficient support to secure the nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate in August. At the same time, her campaign fund has been replenished at a record pace.
Harris has been met with a wave of support as a candidate for the presidency after President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he is dropping out. Surveys conducted by CNN and the AP news agency show that a majority of the nearly 4,000 Democratic delegates support Harris.
The delegates were elected by the party in the different states to represent their electoral districts. Their announcement of support for Harris is not binding until the digital voting process takes place on August 7, but it is unlikely that their stance will change, according to BBC.
A Flying Start
Harris got a flying start on her campaign when Joe Biden, after announcing his withdrawal, immediately came out and expressed his wholehearted support for Harris as the presidential candidate.
This has been supplemented by Democratic heavyweights such as Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. However, former President Barack Obama has not yet given his support.
No one has also come out to challenge Harris for the nomination. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom are some who were speculated about, but they have uniformly backed Harris.
Over One Billion
Several major donors to the Democrats have also immediately backed Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate. Just between Sunday and Monday evening, she had received over $100 million, over one billion Swedish kronor, reports CNN. These come from 1.1 million donors, of which 62 percent are first-time donors.
The Democratic presidential candidate will be formally elected at the party convention in Chicago on August 19-22. The convention will be attended by around 4,700 delegates – 4,000 delegates from the US states and 700 so-called superdelegates, including former presidents, party leaders, and some of the party's elected representatives.