Harris officially becomes Democratic presidential nominee
US Vice President Kamala Harris has officially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 2024 election, along with her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, party officials announced on Tuesday.
This comes just two weeks after Harris announced she was joining the race, and less than half a day after she named Walz as her pick for the vice presidency.
Aside from Harris, no challengers met the threshold of support necessary to contend for the party nomination ahead of the July 27 deadline.
At a five-day “virtual roll call” that concluded on Monday, 99% of participating delegates supported the Harris-Walz ticket, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said in a statement.
Traditionally, Democratic candidates officially announce their nominations, and give acceptance speeches, at the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled for later this month.
This year, the announcement came earlier than normal, reportedly due to a law in Ohio that required the nominees to be selected by this Wednesday. The law was repealed earlier in the year, but with the new provisions not taking effect until September, some Democrats were reportedly worried that future litigation could topple their candidates from the race.
“The virtual roll call ensured that the Harris-Walz ticket has met all ballot access deadlines and every American will have the opportunity to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the general election,” the DNC said. The pair will still celebrate with a “ceremonial roll call” at the Democratic National Convention later this month in Chicago, the statement said.
Harris and Walz will face the Republican nominees former President Donald Trump and his running mate Senator J.D. Vance in the election on November 5.
