Harris has support of enough Democratic delegates to secure U.S. presidential nomination: AP survey

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party's presidential nominee against Republican Donald Trump, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday.

According to an AP survey, Harris has the support of at least 2,214 delegates, well beyond the simple majority needed to clinch the nomination on the first ballot.

The quick coalescing behind Harris marked an attempt by the party to put weeks of internecine drama over President Joe Biden's political future behind them and to unify behind the task of defeating Trump with just over 100 days until Election Day. 

Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris the day after Biden's exit from the race and her campaign set a new 24-hour record for presidential donations on Monday.

Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That's because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.

Harris, in a statement, responded to the AP tally, saying she is "grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people."

Worries over Biden's fitness for office were replaced by fresh signs of unity after a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties' carefully honed plans for the 2024 race.

Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris acknowledged the "rollercoaster" of the last several weeks but expressed confidence in her new campaign team.

"It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win," she said. She promised to "unite our Democratic Party, to unite our nation, and to win this election."

She quickly leaned into the themes that will be prominent in her campaign against Trump over the coming 100 days, contrasting her time as a prosecutor with Trump's felony convictions - "I know Donald Trump's type," she said - and casting herself as a defender of economic opportunity and abortion access.

"Our fight for the future is also a fight for freedoms," she said. "The baton is in our hands."

Biden planned to talk about his decision to step aside in an address to the nation later this week. 

"The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn't changed at all," Biden said in his first public remarks since announcing his decision to step aside, promising he was "not going anywhere" and plans to campaign on Harris' behalf.

The AP tally is based on interviews with individual delegates, public statements from state parties, many of which have announced that their delegations are supporting Harris en masse, and public statements and endorsements from individual delegates.