Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is reportedly aiming to secure the necessary number of delegates to win the Democratic nomination by Wednesday, according to four people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
Since President Biden announced he was stepping out of the race and endorsed Harris on Sunday, officials from her presidential campaign and allies have been making hundreds of phone calls to gather support ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which is set to begin in Chicago on August 19. Securing enough delegates would block potential challengers and ensure that Harris replaces Biden on the ticket against Trump in November.
Harris needs the support of approximately 1,969 out of the 3,936 Democratic delegates at the convention to receive the nomination. So far, about one-quarter of these delegates have pledged their support to her.
Democratic National Committee Finance Chair Chris Korge, who is also a Florida delegate, told Reuters, “Biden’s endorsement of her has been very powerful in getting donors to give money and in delegates … to ultimately pledge for her. With him endorsing the vice president, I think by the end of business on Wednesday she’ll probably have enough pledged delegates to go over 50 percent.”
According to sources, Tennessee became the first state on Sunday to pledge its 70 delegates to Harris. Two top campaign officials indicated that securing support by Wednesday is their target, and another source familiar with the situation confirmed that the campaign is “working toward that” timeframe.
While most Democratic delegates had been committed to Biden following the primaries earlier this year, they are not bound by rules or laws to back any candidate now that Biden has dropped out.