Kamala Harris earns majority of Democratic roll call votes, achieving historic presidential nomination
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 30, 2024. (ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris has officially gotten the vast majority of delegate votes in the virtual roll call that nominates her as the Democratic presidential nominee, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement released late Monday.
The roll call, which concluded on Monday evening, still needs to be certified by Convention Secretary Jason Rae, according to the statement, but the announcement makes Harris’s historic nomination effectively official.
“With the support of 99% of all participating delegates in the virtual roll call, Vice President Harris has historic momentum at her back as we embark on the final steps in officially certifying her as our Party’s nominee. We thank the thousands of delegates from all across the country who took seriously their responsibility throughout this process to make their voices – and the voices of their communities – heard,” party chair Jaime Harrison and Democratic National Convention Committee Chair Minyon Moore said in a statement.
Harris received 4,567 votes from delegates, according to the Democratic National Committee.
Harris is the first Black and South Asian woman to lead a major party ticket.
Harris had effectively been the party’s nominee since Friday, when Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison announced on a livestream call that Harris had earned enough Democratic Party delegate votes in a virtual roll call to secure the party’s nomination.
Harris was the only competitive candidate that launched a campaign to succeed President Joe Biden after his withdrawal from the race, and the only candidate that received enough delegate signatures to progress to the virtual roll call.
Convention delegates have been virtually voting by email or phone since 9 a.m. ET on Thursday in a virtual roll call set up by the Democratic National Committee. Delegates had until Monday at 6 p.m. ET to vote in the nomination process.
The DNC initially decided in May to hold a virtual roll call because of uncertainty over deadlines to get on the ballot in Ohio. The state legislature eventually rectified the issue, but the DNC has argued that Republican lawmakers in Ohio are acting in bad faith and that the Democratic candidate needs to be nominated earlier than the convention to avoid legal issues. Ohio leaders have denied this allegation.
(CHICAGO) — When then-Sen. Barack Obama took the stage on Aug. 28, 2008, to accept the Democratic nomination for president, he did not mention the historic nature of his run. While he gave a nod to his midwestern middle-class upbringing and his Kenyan roots, the man who became the first Black president of the United States urged voters to unite and declared that the campaign was not about him.
“I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you,” Obama said.
Fifteen years later, when Obama took the DNC stage on Tuesday night, he delivered a resounding endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president, Obama struck a similar tone. He did not explicitly discuss Harris’ racial identity as a Black and South Asian woman or her gender identity like Hillary Clinton did on Monday night when the former Democratic nominee passed the torch to Harris with a reference to breaking the “glass ceiling.”
“Kamala Harris won’t be focused on her problems – she’ll be focused on yours,” Obama said.
Harris, who embarked on a historic run of her own, would become the first female president and second president of color if elected in the 2024 general election.
She has spoken with pride about her Jamaican and Indian heritage, and when she ran for president in 2020, her campaign logo was modeled after that of Shirley Chisholm – the first Black woman to run for president – and when she addressed the DNC as vice presidential nominee, she paid tribute to the women of color in politics who came before her.
It is unclear if Harris will focus on her historic run when she delivers her own acceptance speech at the DNC on Thursday. But according to experts who study race, politics and the White House, Harris has so far not made her identity a central part of her 2024 campaign like Clinton did in 2016 and like Harris did in 2020 and has instead, taken a page out of the playbook that propelled the first Black president to the White House.
“[Like Obama], Harris is letting other people talk about her identity. So you’re putting out the surrogates,” Nadia Brown, a professor of government at Georgetown University who studies Black women in politics, told ABC News. “She’s not shying away from her identity, but she’s not centering this entire race and campaign on her identity.”
But is this a winning strategy?
‘Not more of the same’
Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris last month, there has been a surge in “enthusiasm” for the Democratic ticket that crossed “generational boundaries,” according to Leah Wright Rigueur, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, who studies race and the American presidency. This shift in energy was evidenced by the $310 million fundraising haul that her campaign raised in July alone, Rigueur said.
This surge in enthusiasm is reflected in an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released on Sunday, which found that 50% overall say they’d be enthusiastic or satisfied if Harris were elected, compared with 36% who said that about Biden in early 2023.
According to Rigueur, the shift in “energy” is not merely a reflection of voters being excited about the historic nature of Harris’ run, but also indicative of the dissatisfaction with another matchup between Biden and former President Donald Trump – “a race between two really old white guys.”
“I think there is a real kind of excitement about the possibility of what Kamala Harris’ presidency represents,” Rigueur told ABC News. “And I think it’s also fair to say that it’s not simply that she is a woman or that she is Black or that she is Indian that is driving this enthusiasm, but instead the sensibility that … she’s refreshing; that she is new; that she is young, and that she’s not more of the same.”
But on the other hand, Brown said that like Obama, Harris has to strike a “balance” because in working to build the “rainbow coalition” she needs – one that includes independents and Trump-leaning voters – Harris is also navigating racism and the reality that some Americans are “not comfortable” with having a woman of color as president.
While “not more of the same” appeals to some voters, Brown said that for others, “it could be alienating.” This, according to Brown, is part of what informs why Harris has been focused on policy in her wider pitch to battleground state voters and has not centered the conversation around her own identity.
In her stump speeches and campaign ads so far, Harris has touted her middle-class roots – much like Obama did in 2008 – in an effort to connect with voters and make the case that she knows what it’s like to work hard, Brown said.
“She grew up in a middle-class home. She was the daughter of a working mom and she worked at McDonald’s while she got her degree,” a Harris ad that touts her goals to lower health care costs and make housing more affordable says. “Being president is about who you fight for and she’s fighting for people like you.”
According to Rigueur, Harris’ strategy to focus on policy and the people, instead of the candidate, is guided by an understanding that there “is a burgeoning of a movement that sees Kamala Harris as its vehicle, not its endgame.”
“There is something novel about Kamala Harris, and it’s something that she has chosen not to emphasize in her campaign,” Rigueur said. “And I actually think that’s a smart decision [that] she’s chosen not to emphasize it, and she doesn’t need to emphasize it because it’s so apparent – it is the elephant in the room.”
‘The Obama effect’
According to Rigueur, Harris is also navigating a political landscape where “the Obama effect” is at play, where there is “an emotional difference” between new generations who grew up with a Black president, “as opposed to, say, my grandmother, who never thought that she would live to see a Black man become President of the United States.”
“I think this comes out too, in attitudes towards what people think about [when it comes to] change and progress,” Rigueur said.
Brown echoed this notion.
“People put their hopes and dreams, I think, unrealistically, on Obama, because there just wasn’t a large civic understanding about how politics works,” she said. “Just the symbolism of having the first Black president was enough for many people that they didn’t question or look into his policy preferences. And I think the difference today is, yeah, people, know.”
And this is what Brown, who is conducting research at the 2024 DNC this week, found through interviews with protesters about how they feel about a Harris presidency and whether her racial or gender identity is something that inspires them.
Brown said she was “surprised” by how many young people of color expressed that they “don’t care” about Harris’ identity and are instead concerned with her politics, particularly her stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
“There’s a large number of people I’ve been surveying – talking to, here – who really disdain these boxes, right? They don’t want to, you know, identify as voting for a woman because they are a woman, and they want to talk about policy,” Brown said.
According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Sunday, 38% of Americans say that having a woman serve as president would be a good thing for the country, far more than the 14% who see it as a bad thing. The rest, 47%, say it makes no difference.
The poll also found that support from Black people has swung by 12 points in Harris’ direction, from +60 for Biden in July to +72 for Harris now. But Brown said having a Black candidate is not enough – particularly in a post-Obama world.
“Black voters want more,” she said, adding that Harris’ strategy has shifted and she is “going down a different path” in 2024 than she did during her 2020 presidential campaign by making more efforts to speak authentically to Black voters.
“Being in communities with Black people like going to HBCUs, showing up at these Black civil rights organizing spaces, talking about black maternal health,” she added. “Some of these things are showing it’s not that I’m Black, but I actually am part of these communities.”
Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald J. Trump holds his first public campaign rally with his running mate, Vice Presidential nominee U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) (not pictured), at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump and his campaign are reeling from the surprise announcement that President Joe Biden was ending his reelection bid, forced to pivot their infrastructure toward a new candidate as Trump himself airs out his frustrations publicly.
Trump campaign officials have publicly expressed confidence they can defeat any Democratic candidate; however, privately, sources have aired out frustrations surrounding new advertisement and messaging strategies.
Since Biden’s announcement, Trump has taken to his social media platform to post more than 10 times, offering real-time insight into the changes Trump is going to have to make as he now has to prepare for competing against a new candidate, likely Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president is still focusing much of his attacks on Biden, barely mentioning Harris, as he pushed unfounded claims that Biden isn’t actually recovering from COVID, questioned how Biden would be able to serve the rest of his term, and even argued the Republican Party should be reimbursed for the money they’ve spent on challenging Biden.
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!” Trump first posted, continuing to post well into Sunday night — then started up early Monday morning.
Though campaign officials have already started to pivot their focus to Harris, posting new ads and highlighting her gaffes, Trump unveiled the realities of the wasted money and resources the Trump team now has to deal with.
“Now we have to start all over again. Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe,” he said in a post Sunday night.
Sources have complained to ABC News that they won’t be able to use ads they had ready to go, including ones that highlighted Biden’s poor debate performance.
It’s unclear how much exactly the Trump campaign had spent on ads directly attacking Biden this election cycle, but pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., which has stricter disclosure requirements on ads than the campaign, had spent more than $30 million on ad placements attacking Biden.
However, the super PAC is already attacking Harris with several “flashbacks” using her own words in an attempt to remind voters on what they believe is a failed record — rolling out a $5 million ad campaign in battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s decision, it appears the Trump campaign and his allies’ messaging is focused on linking the Biden administration’s policies to Harris as well as criticizing Democrats for the unprecedented actions to the electoral process.
Much of Biden’s campaign has been centered around labeling Trump a “threat to democracy,” pointing to his legal cases and continuously highlighting the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now, Trump is flipping the argument, saying Democrats “stole” the race from Biden after primary voters chose him as the party’s nominee.
“The Democrats pick a candidate, Crooked Joe Biden, he loses the Debate badly, then panics, and makes mistake after mistake, is told he can’t win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris,” Trump said. “They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries — A First! These people are the real THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”
Last week, Trump’s vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance floated that if Biden doesn’t seek reelection, then he should resign. Trump picked up this rhetoric following Biden’s decision to step down saying, “If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!”
“If Joe Biden can’t run for president, he can’t serve as president. And if they want to take him down because he’s mentally incapable of serving, invoke the 25th Amendment,” Vance said during a sit-down interview with Fox News’ Jesse Waters taped on Saturday.
“You don’t get to sort of do this in the most politically beneficial way for Democrats. If it’s an actual problem, they should take care of it the appropriate way,” Vance continued.
Trump, who clinched the Republican nomination for a third time at the Republican National Convention, suggested that the election was stolen in 2020. He classified his new campaign as competing for a “fourth time.”
“Crooked Joe just got knocked out, so now I’ll have to do it a FOURTH TIME!!!” Trump posted.
While Democrats try to lock in enough delegates for Harris to assume the top of the ticket in the coming days, the Trump campaign is forced to move forward with a new campaign strategy this week. It’s a significant shift with a little more than 100 days until Election Day, in which Trump said he believed he would win by a “monumental landslide,” picking up wins in battleground states and expanding the map to Minnesota, New Jersey and Virginia.
(CHICAGO) — Former President Donald Trump’s interview on Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago kicked off with a contentious start where he refused to answer his previous comments and why Black voters should trust him.
Trump had a conversation with ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner and Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba.
The first question came from ABC’s Scott, who asked about Trump’s past inflammatory rhetoric toward women of color.
“Now that you were asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?” Scott asked.
“Well, first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question. So, in such a horrible manner, a first question. You don’t even say hello. Who are you? Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network. A terrible network,” Trump began.
He also lashed out at NABJ for starting the program late and said they had him attending under false pretenses that his 2024 opponent would be participating, too.
“I love the Black population of this country,” he said, pointing to his work with Sen. Tim Scott on “opportunity zones” and his work on the economy.
When ABC’s Scott followed up by asking him to answer her question, Trump responded: “I have answered the question. I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”
The former president went on to mock Vice President Kamala Harris and when asked about Republican comments that she is a “DEI” hire, Trump deflected — asking the journalist instead to define DEI, which she did repeatedly.
NABJ is working with Politifact for real-time fact checking on Trump’s comments.
Trump’s appearance has stoked some criticism. April Ryan, the Washington bureau chief of theGrio who was awarded the NABJ’s “Journalist of the Year” back in 2017, wrote online that his invitation was “a slap in the face.”
Karen Attiah, the co-chair of the convention, resigned earlier this week after the NABJ announced Trump’s appearance. Attiah wrote in a post on X, “To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck,” explaining that his appearance was only partly behind her decision and that it was “influenced by a variety of factors.”
Others, however, have defended the decision.
MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend, who was formerly Harris’s spokesperson, wrote on X: “Some of the best journalists in the country are members of NABJ. So, why wouldn’t they interview Trump? He is the Republican nominee.”
“NABJ didn’t platform Trump. The voters in the Republican primary did. Just like anyone else who is running for President, he should sit for serious interviews and answer real questions,” she wrote.
Vice President Harris was also invited to attend, according to NABJ, which has hosted presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle for years. President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have all attended the convention.
NABJ, in a statement on Wednesday, said that it was in contact with Harris’s team for an in-person panel before Biden had dropped out but “were advised by her campaign that her schedule could not accommodate this request.”
“The last update we were provided was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention. We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement,” Lemon said.
Though the Associated Press and NPR reported the organization declined an offer for her to appear virtually on Wednesday.
As Trump is in Chicago, Harris on Wednesday will have lunch with Biden at the White House before traveling to Houston, Texas, for a political event and to deliver remarks Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.’s 60th International Biennial Boule. The sorority is a historically Black organization with hundreds of chapters across the U.S. and internationally.
As the 2024 race ramps up, both Harris and Trump will be looking to shore up support among Black voters.
On the campaign trail this year, Trump’s suggested Black voters relate to his indictment and has frequently claims he will stop undocumented immigrants from taking “Black jobs.”
Harris, who is likely to be the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to head a major party’s presidential ticket, recently encouraged Black voters to help make history by supporting her. In her speech, she pointed to wins under the current administration like the Child Tax Credit that reduced Black child poverty, student loan relief and lowering the costs of prescription drugs.
“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past, and with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future, and let us be clear about what that future looks like,” Harris said at the event.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found enthusiasm for Harris as the Democratic nominee had peaked among Democrats (88%) and Black Americans (70%).
