US Vice President Kamala Harris is well on her way to securing the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge Republican Donald Trump in November, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Momentum was quickly building on Monday for Ms Harris, making her nomination all but inevitable as donors poured money into her campaign, big-name Democrats endorsed her and no one came forward to challenge her.
“One day down. 105 to go. Together, we're going to win this,” Ms Harris said on X on Monday, one day after Mr Biden said he was no longer running and endorsed his deputy to succeed him.
If Ms Harris, whose parents are from India and Jamaica, were to be nominated and then beat Mr Trump in the November 5 election, she would become the first woman, the first black woman and the first person of Asian descent to occupy the White House.
During this year's primary elections, Mr Biden won easily in every state, with Ms Harris on the ticket as his running mate.
She must formally secure the nomination from about 4,700 Democratic convention delegates and superdelegates, but this now appears to be a formality and some state delegates have already thrown their support behind Ms Harris.
In Pennsylvania, the state's 159 Democratic delegates voted unanimously to support Ms Harris during an online meeting on Monday.
Adam Bonin, a Democratic election lawyer in Pennsylvania, predicted other delegates would soon follow suit.
"Within a day or two, it will be clear that she will be the nominee," Mr Bonin told The National.
"I am hearing so much enthusiasm and we are seeing it in volunteer sign-ups, we are seeing it in fundraising. Everyone is thrilled having Kamala Harris as our presumptive nominee."
Delegates are expected to vote in an online roll call on or soon after August 1, Mr Bonin said, clearing the way for Ms Harris to formally accept the Democratic nomination during the party's convention in Chicago from August 19-22.
In her first public comments since Mr Biden's announcement, Ms Harris stood outside the White House on Monday and praised her boss in an upbeat tribute that was a contrast to recent appearances by an exhausted-looking Mr Biden.
The President stepped down from his re-election bid weeks after he appeared confused and incoherent at a debate against Mr Trump.
“I have seen every day in our President his honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart and his deep love of our country,” Ms Harris said.
“We are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”
Ms Harris said on Sunday that she would fight to “earn and win this nomination” and do “everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump”.
At her official campaign launch on Monday, Ms Harris took direct aim at her Republican rival: "I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type."
Mr Trump has been found liable for sexual abuse and fraud, and was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsified business records.
Apart from Mr Biden's endorsement, Ms Harris has been gathering support from several high-profile Democrats including Bill and Hillary Clinton, who said they would “fight with everything we've got to elect her”.
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said she had “full confidence” that Ms Harris would win the general election.
Crucially, Ms Harris also won support from California Governor Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, all of whom had been floated as possible candidates to run against Mr Trump.
Other prominent Democrats including Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also offered support.
But former president Barack Obama did not make an immediate endorsement, saying he wanted Democrats to create a nominating process from which an “outstanding nominee emerges”.
In another vital sign of Democratic enthusiasm for Ms Harris, her campaign said on Monday that she had raised more than $81 million in less than 24 hours after Mr Biden said he was stepping aside.
Politico reported that her political action committee received $150 million in new commitments from major donors in the same time.
The money will play a huge role in boosting Ms Harris's national profile and counters some of the big-ticket donations Mr Trump is enjoying, including $45 million a month from billionaire Elon Musk.
