June 6 (UPI) — Former Vice President Joe Biden has enough delegates to officially become the Democratic presidential nominee, projections Saturday showed.
NBC News projected that Biden has 2,000 delegates, surpassing the required 1,991 to secure the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination on the first ballot at the national convention. There are 3,979 pledged delegates available, so the number Biden has amassed also represents a majority of delegates.
Winning a series of Democratic primaries on Tuesday helped push Biden to secure the nomination over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who suspended his campaign in Aprile.
Delegates are expected to officially select Biden at he Democratic National Convention, which will be held Aug. 17-20 in Milwaukee. The original date for the event was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was an honor to compete alongside one of the most talented groups of candidates the Democratic Party has ever fielded — and I am proud to say that we are going into this general election a united party,” Biden said in a Medium post Friday.
After a rough start, South Carolina was a turning point for the Biden campaign in late February. He won every county statewide, defeating Sanders, I-Vt., 49 percent to 20 percent, boosted by black voters support.
Days later, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race. Then, on Super Tuesday, Biden received the most delegates.
Biden is expected to face off against incumbent President Donald Trump, who secured the Republican nomination in March, in the presidential election Nov. 3.
Throughout his campaign, Biden has said that “we’re in a battle for the soul of this nation.”
He added in his statement Friday that he would “make sure that as we rebuild our economy, everyone comes along.”
