The duel for the nomination is practically settled. Just one day after President Joe Biden announced he would step back from seeking the Democratic nomination and publicly backed Kamala Harris, the vice president has secured enough delegate support to clinch the nomination, according to a tally by AP.
With no rival candidates, strong backing within the party, and support from donors and influential groups including major unions, Harris is nearing the historic nomination. Formalization is still required in a vote that will take place before the Chicago Convention which begins on August 19. The Democratic National Committee has announced that the process will be completed by August 7 through a teleconference to meet legal requirements in several states and to address potential lawsuits from Republicans. Still, the nomination of Harris is considered a done deal.
She has already acted as the de facto candidate. In a statement she expressed pride in having secured the necessary backing to be the nominee and said she intends to accept the nomination soon. She added that she plans to unite the party, the country, and defeat Donald Trump in November.
Campaign Priorities
Hours earlier, during her first campaign appearance on Monday, Harris wasted no time in attacking the Republican candidate. She stated that she was a prosecutor and knows the kind of people Trump is, during a visit to the Delaware campaign headquarters, which had previously been focused on Biden’s reelection and has now shifted to support Harris with full campaign resources and personnel.
The roughly twenty minute speech guided the themes of the upcoming battle against Trump. She began by recalling Donald Trump’s legal troubles, including the criminal case over payments to Stormy Daniels and allegations of sexual assault as well as the fraud case involving the Trump University. Harris stressed that the campaign is not simply a confrontation between Democrats and Trump but a clash of two visions for the United States. One vision looks to the future, the other to the past. She promised to avoid moving backward and keep moving forward.
Strengthening the middle class was highlighted as a defining goal for her presidency. She spoke about fighting poverty, ensuring fair wages, expanding access to health care, and securing dignified retirement benefits, contrasting these aims with Trump era policies. Harris warned against the extreme plea of Project 2025, associated with Trump, which proposes tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations and, she warned, would endanger Social Security and Medicare. She argued that the country has already tested those economic formulas and they do not lead to prosperity, but to economic injustice and growing inequality.
She also pledged to protect voting rights, promote gun control measures, and defend reproductive rights as another central campaign pillar. She warned that Trump would sign a national abortion ban if given the chance, and said Democrats would not allow that to happen. While the odds of Democrats gaining control of Congress in November remain slim, Harris asserted that if they achieved it they would pass a national right to abortion that she would sign as president.
Biden’s Call
The call was a strong, confident, and optimistic message delivered from the party headquarters. It followed Biden’s public announcement on Sunday revealing his decision to step back from the race. The president spoke from his seaside home in the same state where he has been isolating due to Covid since midweek, and he called on supporters to embrace Harris as the next standard-bearer of the ticket, praising her as the best choice.
Biden emphasized that the name on the ballot may have changed but the mission remains the same. He reiterated his support for Harris and confirmed that the two top campaign leaders would continue to run the operation together. In a repeated commitment, he declared that he would not go anywhere and would continue to back Harris in her bid to win the presidency. Republicans had urged him to leave the ticket, but he doubled down on his support for Harris and the campaign team.
He closed the message by reinforcing his pledge to stand by Harris and to stay engaged as the campaign moves forward. The overarching message was one of continuity and unity as the party solidifies its path toward the general election against Trump.