US Elections 2024: US Vice President Kamala Harris officially secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday, becoming the first woman of Black and Indian heritage to contest the position on a major party ticket. Harris' coronation as the party's standard-bearer comes after a tumultuous period following President Joe Biden's disastrous performance that forced him to end his re-election bid.
Harris will now officially face former US President and Republican rival Donald Trump in November, as several polls show a neck-to-neck contest between the two leaders. Harris' entry in the political fray has re-energised a campaign that had faltered badly amid Democrats' doubts about Biden's chances of defeating Trump or his ability to continue to govern should he succeed. Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, raised more than $100 million in the 36 hours after Biden decided to drop out of the race. She raised over $200 million after announcing her candidacy, far more than Trump's $138.7 million in July.
Harris' nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended on Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99 per cent of delegates had cast their ballots for Harris. The party had long contemplated the early virtual roll call to ensure Biden would appear on the ballot in every state. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party's convention later this month in Chicago.
An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll conducted after Biden withdrew found that 46 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of Harris, while a nearly identical share has an unfavourable view of her. However, more Democrats say they are satisfied with her candidacy compared with that of Biden, energising a party that had long been resigned to the 81-year-old Biden being its nominee against former President Donald Trump, a Republican they view as an existential threat.
Presidential candidacy capped by successful career
Born in 1964 to Indian-origin Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist, and Donald Harris from Jamaica, Kamala Devi Harris has had a splendid career serving as a prosecutor in the Bay Area before becoming the District Attorney of San Francisco and Attorney General of California. She was elected as a US Senator in 2016. Harris quickly established herself as a reliable liberal opponent of Trump's policies.
Harris launched her 2020 presidential campaign with much promise, drawing parallels to former President Barack Obama and attracting more than 20,000 people to a kickoff rally in her hometown. However, she was forced to withdraw from the primary race after staff dissent that spilt out into the open and an inability to attract enough campaign cash.
She became the US Vice President, the first woman of Black and Indian heritage to do so, after Biden won the presidency in 2020. Biden was fond of Harris, who had forged a close friendship with his now-deceased son Beau. Her first months as vice president came under attack from Republicans, particularly on her responsibility to curb migration which remains a political vulnerability.
Who will be Harris' running mate?
Meanwhile, Harris has narrowed her search for a vice presidential running mate to two finalists, Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. She is expected to announce her selection by Tuesday, ahead of her first scheduled public appearance with her running mate that evening at Temple University in Philadelphia.
"I know many of you are eager to find out who I will be selecting to join me on the campaign trail, and hopefully in the White House, as my Vice President," she wrote. Harris is being forced to select her running mate on a highly compressed timeline. She faces an August 7 deadline set by the Democratic National Committee, but the decision is likely to come sooner, according to the sources. Her decision is also significant as a handful of key US states have decided the presidential election in recent years, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The consideration of Shapiro has drawn criticism from some Arab Americans and activist groups wary of his professed solidarity with Israel in its drive to eliminate Hamas during the war in Gaza. However, Shapiro enjoys strong approval ratings in Pennsylvania — one of the Democrats' crucial “blue wall” states along with Michigan and Wisconsin — that Harris will be looking to cement ahead of November.
(with inputs from agencies)
