Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Friday that Vice President Harris has “well beyond” the support she needs to officially clinch the Democratic nomination for the White House, after President Biden stepped aside and endorsed her.
“I think that the vice president has well beyond the numbers required to secure the nomination on the first ballot,” Clyburn told MSNBC’s José Díaz-Balart in an interview.
Harris has become the likely Democratic presidential nominee in the wake Biden dropping out of the race last weekend. She passed the threshold to lock down the nomination Monday, only a day after the president ended his candidacy, and has quickly snapped up important endorsements from key figures in her party and massive amounts of fundraising.
When asked about the importance of both former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama officially backing Harris, Clyburn said it was “very significant.”
“I spoke with the former [president] several times during the past week, and I happen to know that he is very much into this ticket, and he is gonna be very, very helpful going forward,” he added.
Harris’s campaign released a video that showed a call between Harris and the Obamas in which they offered their support for her ahead of November.
“We called to say, Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” Obama said in the video.
Despite the fresh energy and excitement Harris’s campaign has brought to her party, she still has a tough climb in the presidential race if she wants to beat former President Trump.
According to an average of national polls from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ, Trump leads Harris by 2.1 points, with the former president at 47.8 percent compared to vice president’s 45.7 percent.