When President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, Vice President Kamala Harris quickly became the presumptive nominee to take his place. It soon became clear, however, that the “presumptive” part of that label was a mere formality. Well, now that formality can be dispensed with for good. On Friday, August 2, the VP won enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Kamala Confirmed – Just as Planned
Jaime Harrison, the party chair, announced Friday afternoon that Ms. Harris’ nomination would become official after the party’s roll call vote ends on Monday, though she has already crossed the 2,350-delegate threshold required to secure the nomination. The vote began Thursday and ends at 6 p.m. on Monday. There were no challengers to her presumed title.
“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,” Harrison declared during a call with the Harris campaign. “Today, my friends, is special, because we can proudly say we will have the first woman of color at the top of a major party ticket.” The VP, who joined the call by phone, said she would officially accept the nomination after voting ends.
But this win comes as no surprise to those paying attention. The rebranding of Kamala Harris began well before Biden bowed out – even before the nameless sources within his campaign allegedly leaked to the press almost a week earlier that the president had already agreed to do so, while his campaign continued to deny, deny, deny. Just as Biden finally gave in to the increasing pressure to step down, Harris was raised up as the new chosen one. Of course, she ran unopposed, and nearly all the delegates pledged to her before the voting even started. It was over before it began, and all went according to plan.
Harris for the History Books
Kamala Harris made history during the 2020 presidential campaign by becoming the first woman and person of color (Jamaican on her father’s side, Indian on her mother’s) – not to mention the first woman of color – to become vice president. It was an impressive feat, thanks to the identity politics that secured her place in the history books no matter what else happened during her term or what came after.
Now, she gets to add a few more notches to her belt. She’s the first woman of color to become the presumptive nominee for president in a major party, and on Monday, she’ll be the first to be the official nominee. After the highly irregular roll call vote this weekend, she will also be the latest nominee ever to be confirmed by the Democratic Party, with just three months until the general election. In two weeks, Harris went from not running for president to being confirmed by the party. That’s a far cry from the floundering campaign she ran back in 2020. What went differently this time? Back then, she flopped in the primary because she couldn’t pull the votes to make her a real contender. Now, however, Democrat voters have already chosen their pick in the primary – Joe Biden – so the party delegates support her because he ended his re-election campaign.
The VP’s Running Mate – Another Foregone Conclusion?
According to the White House, the vice president doesn’t have any further events planned for the weekend, but she’ll begin a four-day tour of crucial battleground states with her running mate on Tuesday. A law firm enlisted by the campaign reportedly completed its formal process of vetting potential running mates and turned over its findings on Thursday, leaving the final decision to Harris, who will meet with finalists over the weekend.
Some people alleged that footage of Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker was leaked to social media by a staffer. Parker seems to “reveal” that the VP’s VP pick is none other than Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
“And I cannot think of a better partner than our governor, Josh Shapiro,” the mayor said in the video. Friday afternoon, Parker posted on X: “Proud to be back with so many leaders from across our region supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @JoshShaprioPA for VP! We are One CITY, One REGION, and ONE Commonwealth United!”
While many declared this a leak, Fox News later reported that a source close to Mayor Parker had explained that it was posted purposefully as an endorsement of her longtime friend and hometown governor – who is considered one of the top contenders for the spot – not an early reveal that he had already been chosen. Shapiro is one of several possible choices, along with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The announcement will come sometime before Tuesday because that’s when the pair are slated to begin campaigning together. But has the choice already been made? Is Kamala’s pick for VP as foregone a conclusion as her winning the nomination? Maybe she’s really going to make a choice this weekend – and perhaps Mayor Parker was endorsing her friend, not letting slip the big secret. Then again, Biden denied the claims he had already agreed to withdraw for a week before stepping aside at precisely the time the unnamed sources said he would. Before that, the Democratic Party rushed to rebrand Kamala Harris as more presidential than they had portrayed her in the past in anticipation of her eventual and, it seems, inevitable nomination. If Shapiro does emerge as her choice, it won’t exactly be a shock. So far, it’s going according to plan, after all.
