July 23 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris announced Monday night that she had secured commitments from enough delegates to win the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
"When I announced my campaign for president, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination," Harris said in a statement. "Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party's nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state's delegation helped put our campaign over the top.
"I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon."
The announcement came less than 36 hours after President Joe Biden said he would not run for re-election and endorsed Harris to take his place on the ballot and challenge Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, for the White House in November.
Related
In that span, the leadership representing the Democratic Party from a number of states held votes on whether to support Harris' bid for the Democratic nomination, with California, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Texas being among those stating their delegations are behind the vice president.
"Vice President Harris is ready to serve as president on Day 1 and finish the job that Joe Biden started," Colmon Elridge, chair the the Kentucky Democratic Party, said in a statement announcing that his state's delegates had endorsed Harris.
"Now more than ever, we must work hand in hand to elect Kamala Harris. The stakes this November -- for both our beloved Commonwealth and our country -- are too high."
Harris needed 1,976 pledge delegates to win the nomination.
In her statement Monday night, Harris framed the election as a contest between Trump, who "wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights," and herself, who believes "in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead."
The Democratic National Convention next plans to conduct a virtual roll call of the state delegates and officially announce its presidential nominate by Aug. 7.
The convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
No other Democrat has announced intentions to run against Harris, with other high-ranking members of the party who could have contended for the nomination, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, having thrown their support behind the former San Francisco district attorney.
In the first 24 hours of her campaign, Harris pulled in a record $81 million in donations, which is on top of the $240 million Biden-Harris war chest. The money came from more than 888,000 individual donors.
