Harris says she’s the Democrats’ presumptive nominee for president

Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement early Tuesday claimed to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president after a flurry of endorsements from DNC delegates. A candidate needs at least 1,976 delegate votes to receive the party’s nomination. WORLD obtained statements confirming that delegates from 36 states will back Harris at the Democratic National Convention, giving her over 2,400 delegate votes to support her nomination.

When would she be formally nominated? The Democratic Party plans to lock down party nominations for president and vice president before the August convention, according to Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. DNC delegates will hold a virtual roll call to nominate candidates before Aug. 7 to make the filing deadline to appear on Ohio’s ballot, he said during a Tuesday interview with NBC’s TODAY. The vote would mean delegates will nominate presidential candidates more than a week ahead of the party’s Aug. 19-22 convention in Chicago.

Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats have reportedly pushed back on the virtual vote with concerns that the vote would be premature and stifle debate. The DNC first announced the non-traditional process in May when ballot deadlines were shared, Harrison said. When lawmakers a week ago released a letter pushing back on the virtual vote, President Joe Biden was saying he would remain in the race. Congressional opinions on the vote may have changed with Harris at the front. 

Dig deeper: Read my report on Harris’ potential picks for a vice presidential running mate and the party’s surge in donations after Biden’s withdrawal.