ROANOKE, Va. – According to an AP poll, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to be the Democratic Presidential Nominee.
This comes after President Joe Biden announced Sunday he will not be seeking reelection. This is the first time in history, a President has announced they would not seek reelection this late in the process.
“This is certainly an unprecedented situation that has never happened before, however the democratic party is following their rules,” said Virginia Tech Political Science Professor, Caitlin Jewitt.
According to those rules, each of the over 4,000 delegates at the Democratic National Convention will cast their own vote for who they want to see as the presidential nominee.
One of those people casting a vote, Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea.
“I am proud to say I am endorsing Kamala Harris as the president for this country. She has my support,” said Mayor Lea.
“I had a chance to meet her personally back in May. I really got to listen to her closely and I was really impressed with her,” said Lea.
Harris also won the support of the majority of the delegates across the country who plan to attend the DNC.
Harris also has almost unanimous support from the 119 delegates representing Virginia at the DNC.
The group met Monday to discuss where they stand.
“Everyone was very much on board, I think we had two people who did not vote who were traveling, but everyone else was unanimous of the 119 delegation moving forward with this very accomplished woman who will carry our democratic message,” said Democratic Party of Virginia’s Chairwoman Susan Swecker.
While things could change between now and August 19, when the DNC kicks off, experts believe it is unlikely.
“Once President Biden endorsed Harris, very quickly other people endorsed her. So, it looks very unlikely now that we would see a contested convention this year,” said Jewitt.