Kamala Harris quickly moves to secure endorsements and delegate pledges heading into Democratic convention

Within hours after Joe Biden stepped out of the 2024 race, vice president Kamala Harris was working the phones to clear a path to winning the Democratic nomination for president.

Harris quickly secured crucial endorsements from several influential congressional caucuses and Democratic lawmakers, as well as from party officials in key battleground states that Democrats can’t afford to lose to Donald Trump in November. Meanwhile, some Democratic National Committee delegates are already committing their support to Harris, who is expected to enter the party’s convention in August with a sizeable number of pledges.

The president endorsed Harris for the presidency as he announced he was ending his re-election campaign on July 21. The chair of the Democratic National Committee issued a statement shortly thereafter promising a “transparent” process to select the nominee.

By that afternoon, Harris’s just-launched campaign and her allies were calling prominent members of Congress and DNC delegates in an effort to secure her nomination before the convention in August.

Among her first calls was to Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal, who said she is “1000% in for her to be our President.” Harris also secured endorsements from the Congressional Black Caucus and the chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

A group of current and former DNC members also began circulating a letter that by press time had collected more than 60 signatures urging members and voters to support Harris.

During an afternoon conference call, Tennessee’s 77 DNC delegates voted unanimously to endorse Harris as the party’s nominee, becoming the first DNC delegates of any state to do so.

Memphis