Nevada delegates unanimously pledge support for Kamala Harris as Democratic presidential nominee

The decision comes as notable Democrats across the nation began to coalesce around Harris in the immediate hours after Biden’s historic decision to drop out. 

As Vice President Kamala Harris solidifies support from Democratic colleagues nationwide for her bid to be the party’s presidential nominee, it appears she’s earned the backing of Silver State Democrats. 

At a closed-door meeting Monday night, each of Nevada’s 49 delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention pledged to make Harris the Democratic nominee following President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he was suspending his re-election campaign. The delegates’ decision comes as notable Democrats across the nation began to coalesce around Harris in the immediate hours after Biden’s historic decision. 

With Biden’s exodus, the delegates he had amassed during the presidential primary process are now free to vote for any potential nominee, though Harris as of Monday remained the only candidate to announce her intent for the nomination. 

Several national outlets reported late Monday that Harris had secured enough delegates to become the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, but she’ll need to be formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to run Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. 

MORE: The far-right loses its mind over Kamala Harris

If nominated, Harris would become the first Black and South Asian American woman to be nominated for president on a major party’s ticket. 

“Vice President Kamala Harris understands Nevada – we were the first battleground state she visited this year – and Nevada Democrats know Vice President Harris has been instrumental to the Biden administration’s historic progress,” Nevada State Democratic Party chairwoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno said in a statement. “She was at the forefront of efforts expanding access to health care, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, making housing more affordable, and keeping our communities safe. This work has led to a stronger economy, thousands of new good-paying union jobs, and defense of our fundamental rights. 

“From her work as Attorney General and United States Senator of our neighboring state to her service as the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris is more than prepared to be President.”

Nevada’s delegates consist of constituents from each of the state’s four congressional districts, as well as elected officials, state party leaders and progressive advocates. 

Nevada also joins California, Texas, New Hampshire, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and other as states that have announced their unanimous support for Harris. Harris on Monday also earned the backing of prominent establishment Democratic lawmakers like US Rep. Nancy Pelosi and rising stars like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Harris has been to Nevada six times since January in what had been stumps for Biden’s re-election campaign. In each stop, Harris emphasized to supporters that Democrats’ only path to the White House required winning Nevada — which hasn’t voted for a Republican president since 2004 — in November. 

And doing that will require the support of working-class Nevadans from each corner of the state, Harris told supporters at a Las Vegas rally earlier this month. 

“We continue to fight, and we will continue to organize, and in November, we will win,” Harris said July 9, just 12 days before Biden announced he was stepping aside. “We know what hard work looks like. We like hard work.” 

Biden’s decision to pass the torch also appears to have spurred a groundswell in support from activists and donors. The Harris campaign recruited more than 600 new volunteers in Nevada alone following Sunday’s news, according to the Nevada Independent, and has raised more than $81 million nationally.  

Nevada Democratic US Rep. Steven Horsford told reporters Sunday that a nationwide video call  with party rank-and-file had to be rescheduled several times in order to accommodate more guests. 

“That’s just one indication of just how much excitement there is,” Horsford said. “This is a generational shift.”

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