Vice President Kamala Harris is officially the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nominee after a five-day online vote by party delegates ended on the night of August 5, with the party announcing that 99% of delegates voted for her. The party said it would formally certify the vote before the party's convention later this month in Chicago.

"I am proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has won more than a majority of the votes from all convention delegates and will be the Democratic Party's nominee," Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison said.

Ms Harris is expected to announce her running mate this week. She and her running mate will begin campaigning in seven battleground states on the evening of August 6, starting with a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Harris’s nomination was already a foregone conclusion, as the vice president was the only candidate eligible to be on the presidential ballot. But it still marks a historic moment for the United States, as she becomes the first woman of color to lead a major national political party.

Ms Harris's official victory in the election comes two weeks after President Biden announced that he would end his 2024 re-election campaign against former President Trump, the Republican nominee.

Biden’s immediate endorsement of Harris sparked a wave of support for the vice president from governors, senators, members of the House and other Democratic leaders. Within 36 hours, Harris claimed the party’s nomination with the support of a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates.

An AP poll conducted after Biden withdrew found that 46% of Americans had a favorable view of Harris, while a roughly equal number had an unfavorable view of her. But more Democrats said they were satisfied with her than with Biden.

“With a unique voice from a new generation, a prosecutor and a woman whose fundamental rights — especially reproductive rights — are at stake, it seems like destiny has set her up for this moment,” said Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, who was chosen to succeed Harris in the US Senate when she became vice president.

Ngoc Anh (according to Fox News, AP)