Harris passes key hurdle to win White House

Kamala Harris has clinched it with the last minute presidential candidate clearing a major obstacle to her becoming president.

US Vice President Kamala Harris has clinched the contest to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

And unlike current President Joe Biden, she didn’t have to go through a months long contest in each state to clinch it.

On Friday, US time, a virtual roll call continued to be held to determine the official Democratic nominee, reported the New York Post.

Although she was the presumed nominee, with no standing against her since Mr Biden pulled out of the race – she still wasn’t official.

The nomination is determined by delegates from each US state and several territories. They had until Monday to decide for their presidential pick. But by Friday, Ms Harris had enough votes to declare victory.

“I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates and will be the nominee of the Democratic Party following the close of voting on Monday,” Democratic National Convention (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison said in a call.

“The outpouring of support we have witnessed for the Vice President has been unprecedented. We knew your ballots would come back quickly.”

US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP)

Ms Harris called in to celebrate and said she will accept the nomination after the deadline eclipses on Monday.

“Of course I will officially accept your nomination next week once the virtual voting period is closed, but already I’m happy to know that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination. And later this month, we will gather in Chicago (at the Democratic National Convention), united as one party where we’re going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic moment together,” Ms Harris said.

She is the first woman of colour to be at the top of a presidential ticket.

Parties usually vote on their nominees at their respective national conventions.

However, the Democrats opted to elect Ms Harris through a virtual roll call to avoid possible Republican law suits concerning state ballot deadlines.

Ohio has a deadline of August 7 for the presidential nominee to be on the ballot, and the DNC doesn’t begin until August 19.

US Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as US President Joe Biden talks to the media after the arrival of the prisoners released by Russia at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

While Ohio, a key state, had agree to waive that rule, the Democrats didn't want to risk a legal challenge that could have prevented their candidate being on ballot papers at November’s election.

The Vice President is set to campaign across the country on a multistate tour starting Tuesday with her not-yet announced running mate, hitting several battleground states.

She will attend the DNC convention in the middle of the month and will ceremoniously accept the nomination then in person.

Ms Harris’ route to the top of the ticket is historically unprecedented, given that she assumed the nomination despite never winning a single Democratic Party primary. The VP ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020, but dropped out before the Iowa caucuses.

This article appeared on the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.