Following an unusual nomination process in which the incumbent president Joe Biden withdrew from the contest, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic presidential nominee, the party declared on August 02. Delegates to the party's national convention used a new online voting process to secure her selection. She is going to be the first Black woman and someone of South Asian descent to head a significant presidential ticket.
Harris was the only White House hopeful who qualified with no other major Democrat challengers and will officially accept her nomination next week when voting ends Monday. She is also expected to announce her pick for vice president in the coming days, her campaign has indicated.
"I am honoured to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States," Harris wrote on social media platform X.
"This campaign is about people coming together, fuelled by love of country, to fight for the best of who we are."
The former California attorney general will now face Republican former President Donald Trump on the ballot in November. Harris held a 1 percentage-point lead over Trump in a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday. The poll found voters view Harris more favourably over the past month.
Harris became the leading candidate after U.S. President Joe Biden said he would not seek re-election and endorsed her on July 21. Her campaign has raised $200 million, with the bulk of the donations from first-time contributors. More than 170,000 volunteers have also signed up, according to her campaign team. Harris has also shored up support from venture capitalists, start-up founders and tech bosses from Silicon Valley in California.
Harris also served as the state's U.S. senator before becoming vice president in 2021.
Racist and sexist attacks have come from Republicans in recent days with some referring to Harris as a "DEI hire.
" DEI is the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion, and the disparaging term "DEI hire" refers to being hired to fill quotas of diversity. Trump, when asked to comment on the characterization, on Wednesday questioned Harris's racial identity and falsely claimed she had been "Indian all the way" but later "became a Black person."
Harris was born in Oakland, California, to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father who both immigrated to the U.S. She is the first female, first Black and first Asian American Vice President.
