Washington, July 22: US Vice President Kamala Harris is moving swiftly to lock up the Democratic party nomination for President after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race under mounting pressure from those sceptical of his chances.

Harris had picked the endorsements from over 179 of the Congressional Democrats and 23 Democratic Governors, according to The Washington Post.

The Governors backing her included most of those who were expected to throw their hats in the ring, such as Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Some of these Governors are now in the running to join the Harris ticket as running mate - such as Beshear.

Others said to be in the race for her Vice-President position include Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Shapiro and Arizona’s Senator Mark Kelly, a military veteran and former astronaut.

The notable holdouts who have yet to endorse the Vice President are former President Barack Obama, leader of House Democrats Hakeem Jeffries, leader of Senate Democrats Chuck Schumer and former Speaker and party powerhouse Nancy Pelosi. Although they have not cited their reasons yet, Obama is understood to have adopted the same position as he did in 2020, when he held on to his endorsements till after the primaries as he did not want to side with any one of them, including Biden, who had served as his Vice-President for eight years.

The Biden of President campaign has been renamed Harris for President campaign and according to news reports, donations are "pouring" in from a re-energised party base and donors, who had pulled in recent days as the party pressured Biden to step aside and make way for a different candidate.

The Harris campaign has raised $50 million in the hours since her elevation to the top of the ticket following the president’s exit. Working from the Vice-Presidential mansion in the Naval Observatory in Washington DC, Harris, dressed mostly in a Howard University hoodie and sweats, made over 100 calls on Sunday, according to news reports.

Her first public appearance as a candidate for President will be to deliver remarks at an event celebrating the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams from the 2023-2024 season.

Harris has promised to "earn and win" the party nomination. She needs to win the support of 3,000 of the 3,900 party delegates who will attend the convention and elect a nominee. The party intends to start a virtual voting process over the next two weeks to go with the convention with one candidate for presidential nominee, Harris.

According to party rules, challengers will have to secure the signatures of at least 300 delegates to enter the fray. Independent Senator Joe Manchin, who votes with the Democratic party and was a Democrat for decades, has said he wanted to see the eventual nominee emerge through some kind of a primary process, to ensure the party’s next generation of leaders get a fair shot at the nomination and the party gets the best nominee.

With early voting to kick off in September, the Democrats don’t have the luxury of time to go through another round of primary contests.

--IANS

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