Vice President Kamala Harris secured enough delegate support to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, according to the Associated Press.
Harris has been supported by more than the 1,976 pledged delegates she’ll need to win the nomination on the first ballot.
California state Democratic Chairman Rusty Hicks said 75% to 80% of the state’s delegation were on a call Tuesday and they unanimously supported Harris.
“I’ve not heard anyone mentioning or calling for any other candidate,” Hicks said. “Tonight’s vote was a momentous one.”
The Harris campaign has released a statement confirming that she has received the delegates needed to win the nomination and that she looks forward to formally accepting the nomination soon.
“Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon,” she said.
“I am grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people,” Harris added.
The delegates are expected to vote virtually to confirm Harris as the nominee by August 7.
Harris, who will hold a campaign event in Milwaukee on Tuesday, visited her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware and delivered a speech to staff, previewing argument against former President Donald Trump.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” she said, including “predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.”
“So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type,” she added.
