Washington: The Obamas, the former First Couple - hugely influential among Democrats - formally endorsed Kamala Harris for the party nomination, saying they would “do everything we can to elect her as the next president of the United States.”
In a video released by the Kamala's campaign, ex-prez Barack Obama is heard saying, “We called to say Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office.” Michelle adds, “I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic.” “Oh my goodness. Michelle, Barack, this means so much to me. I’m looking forward to doing this with the two of you, Doug and I both,” Harris responds.
Bags enough delegates
Kamala has pretty much wrapped the Democratic nomination for the presidential election well before a formal process and the party convention on Aug 19, belying expectation in some quarters of internecine warfare. The party’s leadership, lawmakers, donors, activists, backroom operatives, and most of all the nearly 4,000 delegates who will formally vote for the nomination quickly lined up behind Kamala after a day of tumult when Prez Biden bowed out of the race.
An unofficial survey of delegates showed Harris with more than 2,500 delegates, well over the 1,976 needed to win a vote in the coming weeks. The nomination was bequeathed and blessed by President Biden himself when Kamala travelled to the Democratic campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden’s home state.
All-female billionaires club leaps into action
An all-female group of Silicon Valley billionaires has thrown its weight behind Kamala’s campaign as donations pour in for the vice-president’s White House challenge.
The group of donors, many friends of Harris from California, had mobilised funding and support for a potential run even before Joe Biden announced he was quitting the race.
Now, as Harris races to secure the Democratic nomination and launch her challenge to Donald Trump, her female backers are set to play an influential role. They include the billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and one of the world’s wealthiest women.
Harris’s campaign raised $81 million in donations over the first 24 hours. By Monday evening, a Democratic fundraising committee brought in a further $150 million. ActBlue, the platform for Democratic candidates and causes, reported that over 888,000 donors made contributions of less than $200 in the day after Biden dropped out. So far more than 1.1 million individuals have contributed, according to US media.
Leads over Trump
Kamala is narrowly beating Trump in a national poll released last week. She holds a two-point lead over Trump, 44% to 42%, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll. It was conducted in the two days after Biden announced he was dropping out of the race. In the previous week’s poll, Harris, 59, and Trump, now the elder in the prez race at 78, were tied at 44%. Both results are within the polls’ margins of error.
Team drawn from Hollywood to Wall Street
Kamala’s sudden ascent has put the spotlight on the advisers, allies and donors who will shape the campaign. A new cast of aides, confidants and supporters has arrived. Doug Emhoff, her husband, has been active both in the campaign and fundraising. Her sister Maya Harris and her niece Meena Harris remain close to her too. Tony West, Maya’s husband, is a confidant.
A number of central figures are advising Kamala on policy. Phil Gordon, a senior diplomat and official who specialised in Europe and the Middle East, has been her closest adviser on national security. Mike Pyle, Biden’s former G7 and G20 sherpa, remains close. Rohini Kosoglu, her former domestic policy adviser, has been helping with debate preparations, is also influential in her circle.
