Vice President Kamala Harris has the support of enough Democratic delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.
CNN and other outlets have calculated that delegates from enough states have said they would back Harris that she has more than the 1,976 pledged delegates needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination at the convention in Chicago next month.
The news comes a day after President Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the race, endorsing Harris as he walked away.
So far, there has been no Democratic resistance to Harris taking the top spot on the ticket.
Marianne Williamson, the self-help guru who challenged Biden in the primaries earlier this year, said she wanted to see an open convention.
But with a majority of delegates saying they will vote for Harris, an insurgent candidate is unlikely to gain much traction.
Vice President Kamala Harris has the support of enough Democratic delegates (who had previously pledged to vote for President Joe Biden) to secure the Democratic nomination as of Monday night.
Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and second gentleman Doug Emhoff (right) hold hands before a crowd of campaign staffers, after President Joe Biden called during Harris’ visit on Monday and said her decision to drop out of the race was the best thing to do.
Outgoing West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin also briefly flirted with running on Sunday, but changed his mind on Monday.
Manchin had left the Democratic Party in May and re-registered as an independent as he served his final eight months in Congress.
Once Biden dropped out (and because he did so before the roll call vote), his delegates were free to back whomever they wanted.
The endorsement from Harris’ home state of California put the vice president mathematically over the top Monday night.
Harris officially took over what had been the Biden-Harris campaign early Monday, with a trip to campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
There, the president broke his silence and called to speak with his campaign team about his extraordinary decision to pass the baton to his vice president.
The 81-year-old spoke hoarsely to campaign staff from COVID isolation at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, telling Harris: “I’ve got my eye on you, kid.”
Vice President Kamala Harris visits what had been the Biden-Harris campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday
He pledged to remain involved in the re-election fight and said he would continue campaigning while interacting via speakerphone with his staffers who now work for Harris.
Biden’s comments followed questions about why he had not been seen or heard from since he made the surprise announcement Sunday afternoon that he would step aside.
“I know yesterday’s news is surprising and difficult for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” the president said.
“I know it’s hard because you put your heart and soul into me to help us win this, help me get this nomination, help me win the nomination and then win the presidency,” he continued.
There were already signs that the campaign had moved forward, with signs saying Posters reading “Harris for President,” “Kamala,” and “Restore Roe” hung on the office walls.
There was one wall in the Delaware office that remained covered with posters bearing the “Biden-Harris” logo.
When Harris took the podium, she noted that Biden was still on the call.
“We love Joe and Jill,” the vice president said.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at what had been the Biden-Harris campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, as she took over the campaign operation as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“It’s mutual,” Biden said over the phone.
“I knew you were still there, you’re not going anywhere, Joe,” she said, laughing. “I love you, Joe,” she added.
Harris thanked her campaign staff and announced that current campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon will take over her campaign. Current Biden-Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez (a former Harris Senate staffer) will also remain in place.
“I know it’s been a roller coaster ride and we all have a lot of mixed emotions about it,” Harris said. “I just have to say that I love Joe Biden, I love Joe Biden and I know we all love him and we have a lot of very good reasons to love Joe Biden.”
“And I have complete faith that this team, this team, will be the reason we win in November, all of you who are here,” the future Democratic candidate continued.
Vice President Kamala Harris (right) and second gentleman Doug Emhoff (left) arrive in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday afternoon to appear before the Biden-Harris campaign staff as the vice president takes over the campaign operation.
President Joe Biden was last seen publicly on Wednesday after contracting COVID-19 and leaving Las Vegas for his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was there that he made the decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and hand over the operation to Harris.
Harris said she was honored to have the president’s endorsement.
“It is my intention to go out and win this nomination and win,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers, donors and grassroots supporters have rallied around Harris, who would be the first woman and woman of color to be elected president of the United States.
A campaign spokesman said Harris’ campaign has raised $81 million in donations since Biden dropped out and more than 28,000 people have signed up to volunteer.
Biden’s campaign staff was blindsided by the news that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, and learned of it through Sunday’s X-mail, like the rest of the American people.
“No one was aware of it before the tweet was posted,” a campaign source told DailyMail.com on Sunday. “Which to me is an absurd way to treat the 1,300 people who work for you,” the source added.
Signs reading “Kamala” are seen around what had been President Joe Biden’s re-election headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden called Monday while Harris was visiting the campaign headquarters as she takes over the reins of the campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris (left) kisses her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff (right), before delivering remarks Monday at the Wilmington, Delaware, campaign headquarters she inherited from President Joe Biden.
At 5 p.m. Sunday, in an all-staff call, O’Malley Dillon assured his aides that their jobs would remain.
He also acknowledged that it was “difficult for staff who may have received the news while working or knocking on doors,” but that it was “important” that they hear the president “in his own words.”
Shortly after Biden posted the letter saying he was withdrawing from the race, he said in a follow-up post on X that he supported Harris to take his place as the Democratic nominee.
“I hope you give Kamala your whole heart and soul, like you gave me,” Biden said Monday by speakerphone. “And I want you to know that I won’t be on the list, but I will remain fully engaged.”
“I have six months left in my presidency and I am determined to do everything I can, both in foreign policy and domestic policy,” he continued, mentioning “working to end the war in Gaza.”
The president added that he would do “anything Kamala wants or needs me to do on top of that.”
“I want to be very clear: we are still fighting this battle together. I am not going anywhere,” the president said.
He has not been seen publicly since Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
The White House’s daily briefing indicated the president would return to Washington on Tuesday, but there are no additional public events on Biden’s agenda.
