WASHINGTON:

Campaign officials and allies of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made hundreds of phone calls Sunday to drum up support from delegates for her presidential nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August. Their efforts were aimed at blocking potential challengers, multiple sources said.

At the same time, the state Democratic Party chairs held a Sunday afternoon call to discuss endorsing Harris as the party’s nominee. Several participants confirmed that Harris has the chairs’ full support.

Harris’ outreach to delegates began almost immediately after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid on Sunday. Securing the support of delegates and the endorsement of state chairs is crucial to ensuring Harris replaces Biden on Nov. 5 as the party’s rival to Republican Donald Trump.

“There are a lot of people on it now,” said a source familiar with the matter. “She’s made it clear she’s going to work to earn their support,” the source added.

The vice president’s office and Harris’ reelection campaign declined to comment. Several prominent Democrats endorsed her on Sunday, but prominent figures including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama remained conspicuously silent.

About 4,000 Democratic delegates, who will gather in Chicago from August 19 to 22, will choose the Democratic Party nominee. Most delegates are committed to Biden after this year’s primaries. After his sudden announcement, they are not legally obligated to support a specific candidate.

Although Biden was the presumptive nominee, he has no direct power to choose the formal delegate nominee. Harris needs the support of 1,969 of the 3,936 Democratic delegates to secure her nomination at the convention in August.

The southern US state of Tennessee was the first state to award 70 delegates to the vice president, sources said.

Even before Biden stepped aside, Harris was beginning to emerge as the consensus choice. In an open nomination process, the vice president has several advantages over potential challengers.

Bruce Thompson, a North Carolina attorney and early supporter of Harris’ failed 2020 presidential bid, said he actively called delegates to secure their support for Harris. Thompson, who also sits on the Democrats’ powerful Rules Committee, reported broad support for Harris.

Chip Forrester, co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign’s southern region finance committee, said the Tennessee delegation voted unanimously to endorse Harris for president. “Tennessee became the first state in the country to officially endorse Harris unanimously for president,” Forrester said.

Asif Mahmood, a Pakistani-American physician, congressman and Democratic fundraiser based in California, said he had personally spoken to 60 congressmen, all of whom agreed to support Harris. “There is a new excitement, a new hope that this can be done,” Mahmood told Reuters.

He predicted Harris would raise $700 million to $1 billion before the Nov. 5 election and expected $30 million to be raised within 24 to 48 hours.

Abortion rights groups including Emily’s List and Reproductive Freedom for All also began reaching out to congressmen to advocate for Harris. The vice president has been a leading voice for abortion rights in the Biden administration.