Vice President Kamala Harris got enough delegate votes Friday in the virtual roll call process to become the official Democratic nominee.
The deadline for DNC delegates to turn in their electronic ballot is on Monday, but by Friday afternoon, Harris already had the majority of delegate support secured.
“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,” 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.”
Harris called into the Delaware HQ 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, united as one party where we’re going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic moment together,” Harris said.
She is the first woman of color to be at the top of a presidential ticket.
The DNC voted to elect Harris through a virtual roll call to avoid possible Republican litigation concerning state ballot deadlines. Ohio has a deadline of Aug. 7 for the presidential nominee to be on the ballot, and the DNC convention where the candidate is usually sworn in in person begins Aug. 19.
The vice president is set to campaign across the country on a multi-state 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.
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 Dem nomination in 2020, but dropped out before the Iowa caucuses.