The President of the United States of America has praised Vice President Kamala Harris for securing the Democratic party’s presidential nomination.
Harris officially clinched the Democratic party’s presidential nomination on Friday, solidifying her extraordinary journey to becoming the party’s standard-bearer in the November showdown against Republican Donald Trump.
Aged 59, Harris, who was the only candidate on the ballot, won a five-day electronic vote of nearly 4,000 party convention delegates. As the first Black and South Asian woman to secure a major party’s nomination, she is set to be officially crowned at a Chicago convention later this month.
“I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States,” said Harris during a phone call to a party celebration after securing enough votes by the second day of the virtual vote marathon.
In the two weeks since Joe Biden announced the end of his reelection bid, Harris has taken control of the party, breaking fundraising records, drawing large crowds, and narrowing the polling gap that Trump had established.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Biden posted shortly after her nomination.
As Harris gears up to hit the campaign trail next week, the Democratic Party opted for a virtual nomination process, diverging from tradition to align with the procedure used in the pandemic-affected 2020 election due to an early Ohio deadline for submitting names of certified candidates.
The virtual roll call marks the official start of the 2024 convention, with traditional festivities set to commence when thousands of party faithful gather in Chicago on August 19.
The upcoming event will include a ceremonial vote for Harris, in what is expected to be a lively celebration of her journey from a California prosecutor to a historic candidate vying for the nation’s highest office.
Trump’s White House bid took a turn in July when 81-year-old Biden, amidst concerns about his age and slipping poll numbers, withdrew from the race and endorsed Harris.
Wave of momentum
With her energy and being two decades younger than 78-year-old Trump, the vice president has rapidly gained momentum, raising $310 million in July, according to her campaign — more than double Trump’s fundraising amount.
Harris and her running mate are scheduled for a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, a crucial swing state where Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro is under consideration to join Harris on the ticket.
Biden’s victory over Trump in Pennsylvania in 2020 by around 80,000 votes underscores the state’s significance as one of the key battlegrounds that determine the Electoral College outcome.
Harris plans to visit Michigan and Wisconsin, two states that contributed to Biden’s 2020 triumph in the so-called blue wall, on Wednesday.
She will also tour diverse sunbelt and southern states like Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada, aiming to solidify support among Black and Hispanic voters who have been drifting away from the Democrats.
Reports from US media suggest that Harris’s campaign is drawing on senior advisors from Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 to play key roles.
Focusing on future-oriented messaging, Harris positions the race as a battle for “freedom” rather than the abstract “democracy” emphasized by the president.
She and her allies have taken a more assertive stance compared to the Biden camp, mocking Trump for retracting from a September debate commitment and portraying him as an elderly criminal and “weird.”
“Some days I feel sorry for Republicans, because they’ve got to figure out how to run a criminal against a prosecutor,” remarked Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock at Harris’s Atlanta event.
While Harris has refrained from divulging broad details, she has distanced herself from some left-leaning positions held during her unsuccessful 2020 primary campaign. Her lack of extensive interviews since entering the race leaves voters without a clear grasp of her overall vision.
Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans have grappled with adapting to their new opponent and refining their criticisms of Harris — initially branding her as excessively liberal on immigration and crime, before falsely accusing her of pretending to be Black for political gain.
AFP