Just a quick announcement:
Kamala just got enough votes
Vice President Kamala Harris has won enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination, the Democratic National Committee said on Friday, setting
Ms. Harris up to become the first Black woman and person of South Asian
heritage to earn the top spot on a major political ticket for president.
Jaime
Harrison, the party chair, said Ms. Harris’s nomination would become
official after the party’s highly unusual, virtual roll call vote ends
on Monday. On Friday, Ms. Harris’s campaign announced the addition of
several top advisers, including David Plouffe, who managed Barack
Obama’s first presidential run.
Here’s what to know:
Nearing a V.P. choice: A law firm enlisted by the Harris campaign completed its formal process of vetting
potential running mates. It turned over its findings to the campaign on
Thursday, leaving the decision up to Ms. Harris, who will meet with
finalists this weekend. Several contenders canceled events this weekend,
reflecting a desire to be available for those conversations. Ms. Harris
is expected to start campaigning with her chosen vice-presidential
candidate early next week.
Staff moves: In addition to Mr. Plouffe, the Harris campaign is bringing on board
Jennifer Palmieri, a former Obama and Clinton communications director;
Stephanie Cutter, Mr. Obama’s deputy campaign manager in 2012; and Mitch
Stewart, who was Mr. Obama’s battleground states director that same
year. The new aides will all report to Jen O’Malley Dillon, the campaign
chair.
Campaign cash:
The Trump and Harris campaigns have announced their fund-raising totals for
July, an extraordinary month in presidential politics that brought the
attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump, his formal
nomination as the Republican candidate, the end of President Biden’s
candidacy and the start of Ms. Harris’s. While both major-party
candidates experienced fund-raising surges amid the upheaval,
re-energized Democrats sent a record-setting $310 million
into the coffers of the Harris campaign and its allied groups, more
than doubling the $139 million that Mr. Trump took in, itself an
enormous sum.
Lawyers call to protect democracy: On Friday, a bipartisan task force of the American Bar Association called on lawyers
across the country to protect democracy and fend off “rising
authoritarianism.” The statement by the group, led by J. Michael Luttig,
a conservative former federal appeals court judge appointed by
President George Bush, and Jeh C. Johnson, a homeland security secretary
under President Barack Obama, does not mention Mr. Trump by name but
appears to be referring to his attempt to subvert his 2020 election
loss.
