US election live updates: Kamala Harris poised to announce her vice-presidential running mate | US elections 2024

Here’s the statement from the DNC chair, Jaime Harrison, and the DNCC chair, Minyon Moore.

With the support of 99% of all participating delegates in the virtual roll call, Vice President Harris has historic momentum at her back as we embark on the final steps in officially certifying her as our Party’s nominee.

We thank the thousands of delegates from all across the country who took seriously their responsibility throughout this process to make their voices – and the voices of their communities – heard.

As we prepare to certify the nomination alongside Convention Secretary Rae, we know that we are all a part of an important piece of history. Soon, it will be time to come together in Chicago, where we will celebrate together and make clear to the American people that the Democratic Party is the party of freedom, of democracy, of rights, and of the people.

Democratic delegates selected Kamala Harris, the vice-president, to be the party’s presidential nominee, according to final vote results released late Monday by the Democratic National Committee, the Associated Press reported.

Harris received nearly 4,600 votes in the five-day online voting process, which the DNC said was 99% of participating delegates.

Who is Mark Kelly?

Rachel Leingang

Kelly’s resume stands out in the sea of lawyers that dominate Washington.

The Arizona senator was a US navy pilot who served multiple deployments. He was on Celebrity Jeopardy. He is a steadfast partner to his wife, former US representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt at a public event in Tucson in 2011 and has worked alongside Kelly to limit guns since.

Oh, and he’s been to space multiple times because he was an astronaut, along with his twin brother, Scott. He even wrote a children’s book about it, called Mousetronaut.

“An astronaut! Who doesn’t like astronauts, except for Flat Earthers, right? But they’re very small in quantity,” Arizona pollster Mike Noble said. “So, outside of Flat Earthers, I’m trying to think of what’s more American than astronauts. Astronaut takes everybody. I’ve been to space, what have you done?”

Read the full story here.

Here’s a bit of insight into Tim Walz’s communication style. In 2019, he published this video with his daughter explaining a new law.

Who is Tim Walz?

Rachel Leingang

Minnesota’s governor captured the internet’s attention and swayed Democrats’ messaging by succinctly summing up how he views Republicans: they’re weird.

Clips of Walz have spread widely, cementing him as a national voice for Kamala Harris’s campaign – and a potential pick to run alongside her as vice-president.

Walz, 60, was born and raised in small-town Nebraska. He became a teacher, first in China, then in Nebraska and finally in Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught geography and coached the high school football team. He also served in the army national guard for 24 years, enlisting at age 17, a role that took him around the country and on a deployment to Europe.

Walz first ran for office in 2006 in a Republican-leaning congressional district, knocking off the incumbent in an upset. He kept the district until 2016, dispatching Republicans over and over. In 2018, he ran for governor and won, then defended the seat successfully in 2022.

He’s now the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a perch that has given him a national profile.

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As speculation mounted about his political future, Josh Shapiro was spotted yesterday playing basketball with one of his children.

Here are some recent images of Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania who is a leading contender to be named Kamala Harris’s running mate.

Martin Pengelly

Who is Josh Shapiro?

Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, is a leading contender to be named Kamala Harris’s running mate.

A congressional aide turned state representative and state attorney general, the 51-year-old father of four was elected governor in 2022.

Close to two years later, he maintains historically high approval ratings, including notable support from Republicans, his numbers outstripping such ratings both for Harris and for the GOP ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance.

In 2020, the declaration of victory in Pennsylvania confirmed Joe Biden’s election win over Trump.

In 2024, the state is again one of the most important presidential battlegrounds.

On Tuesday, Harris will stage her first event with her vice-presidential pick in Philadelphia, the state’s biggest city: a move that did little to quell speculation that Shapiro will be that pick.

Read the full profile.

Harris to announce VP pick

Martin Pengelly

Kamala Harris is set to announce her choice of a running mate today, before they appear together at an evening rally in Philadelphia to kick off a five-day tour of the swing states that are crucial to winning the presidential election.

The culmination of what has been a lightning-fast vetting process – it is little more than two weeks since Joe Biden, the 81-year-old president, made the historic decision to stand aside and Harris became the de facto nominee – has seen a round of interviews both in person and online.

On Monday, Reuters reported that the search had narrowed to two governors: Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota.

Harris, 59, interviewed both men, as well as the Arizona senator Mark Kelly, over the weekend at the Naval Observatory, the Washington DC residence of the vice-president.

Three other men were reported to be on her shortlist: the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker; the Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear; and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is now the US secretary of transportation.

With polling showing her gaining on Donald Trump – CBS gave the Democrat a one-point edge nationally and put the candidates level in battleground states – and a rocky rollout for Trump’s own vice-presidential pick, JD Vance, speculation has been rife as to whom Harris will select.

Read the full story here.