(IntegrityTimes.com) – On July 21, President Joe Biden announced that he will not be running for re-election only days after it was revealed that he had contracted Covid-19 on the campaign trail.
Biden announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris to run as the Democrat nominee almost immediately. Harris then had to secure the support of enough delegates to secure her official nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August. As of the evening of Monday July 22, the numbers indicate that she has secured the requisite number of delegates to go forward with her campaign.
Both Republicans and Democrats officially nominate their chosen presidential candidates at their National Conventions before the election. Former president Donald Trump was nominated at the Republican National Convention on Friday July 19, less than a week after he was shot in a failed assassination attempt. While Trump’s nomination required the support of at least 1,215 delegates, Harris requires 1,976 delegates.
While these raw numbers may seem to set a higher bar for Democrats, there are many reasons for the discrepancy. One major difference is that the Democrat party has a larger total number of delegates than the Republicans, so the numbers are actually proportional. Also, the Democrats allocation system includes unpledged superdelegates who can vote for any candidate at the convention. While some are speculating about alternate candidates, there have been no official announcements to indicate other names are being considered.
In a statement that Harris released on Monday, she proudly announced that she had earned her party’s nomination as she promised she would. Many prominent Democrat figures have stepped forward to support and rally the Democrat voters around Harris since Biden first announced his withdrawal from the 2024 election. Other notable Democrats, like former president Barack Obama, have been conspicuously silent. While there may be time for another candidate to rise up before Harris is officially nominated at the convention in August, it does not seem likely at this time.
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