US prez poll: Kamala Harris emerges as top contender for Democratic nominee

Washington: US vice president Kamala Harris has emerged as the most likely Democratic nominee for the presidency, as she announced her candidacy, inherited Joe Biden’s campaign infrastructure, picked endorsements from top party leaders, and raised $50 million within hours of Biden quitting the race and endorsing her on Sunday. No other Democrat has announced their intent to seek the party’s nomination so far.

On Sunday, in her first statement, Harris hailed Biden’s achievements and termed his decision to not seek re-election a “selfless and patriotic act” of putting the country above himself. Biden was under tremendous pressure after his debate performance against Donald Trump exposed age-related deficits and led to calls from party elders, elected representatives, donors and voters to make way for a younger candidate. After resisting for three weeks, Biden finally gave in to the pressure after seeing polls that showed there was no viable path for him to win, reports said.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump,” Harris said. She added that there were 107 days for the elections. “Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

Amid uncertainty about the next steps, Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that the party will undertake a “transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate”. The process will be governed by the party’s established rules and procedures. “Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people,” he said. The party also announced that its rules committee will meet on Wednesday to establish a process, and the proceedings of the meeting will be public.

But even as the party figures out how to proceed and whether delegates will vote for a nominee virtually or do so at the party’s convention slated for August 19 in Chicago, the Harris campaign acquired rapid momentum.

Within hours, the Biden for President campaign transformed into Harris for President. The Biden campaign staff is now working for Harris. She also got access to $96 million of campaign funds that was raised by the Biden campaign. The Harris campaign sent out its own fundraising emails and texts and by Monday morning, eastern time, it had raised almost $50 million, the highest single day fundraising haul in this election for Democrats.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among the first to back Harris. “Nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term…Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it”, the Clintons said.

A spate of her potential rivals, including state governors such as Gavin Newsom of California and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, too backed Harris for the nomination. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, two strong groups within the party, endorsed the vice president. In a statement, the progressives led by Pramila Jayapal said, “Our members are united around a common goal: defeating the existential threat to our democracy and livelihood that is Donald Trump and MAGA extremism. And following a vote by the entirety of the progressive caucus, our members overwhelmingly agree that Kamala Harris is the candidate to do that.”

In his own statement that lauded Biden’s contribution as a president and his decision to now step away, former President Barack Obama did not endorse Harris. Instead, he said, “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.” Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, too is understood to be in favour of an open process. And Harris herself has said she intends to “earn and win this nomination”. All of this, coupled with DNC chair’s statement, suggests that the Democrats will open up the process for other candidates to compete, and the final decision will be taken by delegates, but the convention could still be a formality as the Harris campaign builds a decisive lead and she remains unchallenged.

Biden’s decision left Democrats in an unprecedented situation. Never before has a presidential candidate dropped out so late in the race after having won the primaries. Never before has the party appeared to be on the verge of nominating a Black woman, and an Indian-American woman on the top of the ticket. And never before has the party confronted an opponent such as Trump who has already served one term in office, rejected the results of the last elections, got convicted of crime, survived an assassination bid and retains a lead in the polls.

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