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Harris, the U.S. vice president, became the frontrunner for the
Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden bowed to
pressure from within the party and dropped out of the race last
month. Harris quickly won the support of party heavyweights and
was the only candidate to qualify for the Democratic
presidential ballot, which ensured the outcome of the delegate
voting was never in doubt.
Party delegates voted virtually this week. Harris, who joined
the livestream event where the announcement was made, said she
would officially accept the nomination next week after the
virtual voting period had closed.
"But already I'm happy to know that we have enough delegates to
secure the nomination," said Harris, the first Black and Asian
person to become U.S. vice president.
"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 needed to pass a 2,350-vote threshold from delegates to
formally secure the nomination, her campaign said.
DNC leaders had pledged to deliver a presidential nominee by
Aug. 7, before the Aug. 19-22 Democratic National Convention in
Chicago.
The DNC had said a virtual vote was needed to ensure the
nomination process was completed by Aug. 7, the date by which
Ohio law required a nominee in place to make the state's ballot.
Ohio lawmakers subsequently pushed back the deadline to Sept. 1,
but party officials said they nevertheless wanted to meet the
Aug. 7 deadline to avoid any legal risk in the state.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Jasper Ward, editing by Deepa
Babington)
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