Election 2024 Latest: DNC chair says Harris secured enough delegate votes to become party nominee

Vice President Kamala Harris had secured enough votes from Democratic delegates to become the party’s nominee for president, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said Friday.

The online voting process doesn’t end until Monday, but Harris' campaign marked the moment when she crossed the threshold to have the majority of delegates’ votes.

The announcement came after the campaign said earlier that it raised $310 million last month, an eyepopping sum showing that donors who once seemed spooked about the prospects for November’s election with President Joe Biden are now offering mountains of cash to boost his former No. 2.

The haul by Harris, the Democratic National Committee and affiliated entities far outpaced Republican former President Donald Trump, whose campaign and assorted committees said they took in $138.7 million for July.

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Here's the Latest:

Biden's adviser returns to White House

One of President Joe Biden’s most trusted advisers is coming back to the White House to finish out the term.

Mike Donilon has known the president for decades and is often the last person the president turns to for counsel. He left the White House earlier this year to help with Biden’s reelection campaign.

But now that Biden has stepped away from the race, Donilon will return to government to resume his post and help the president through the end of his term in January, a White House official said. Biden asked Donilon to return.

Biden has said he wants to run through the tape of his final six months.

On Thursday, Biden announced a massive, 24-person multi-national prisoner swap that returned home captive Americans including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who was jailed by Russia in 2023.

— This post has been updated to add that President Biden asked Donilon to return.

Shapiro: Vance is a ‘phony-baloney’

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is jousting verbally with Republican Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

The repartee started speaking Friday at a news conference on higher education policy at Cheyney University near Philadelphia when a reporter said Vance had called Shapiro a “really bad impression of Barack Obama.”

“That what he said?” Shapiro asked. “Barack Obama was probably our most gifted orator of my time. So it’s kind of a weird insult, I guess.”

Shapiro then launched into a criticism of Vance, calling him a “phony-baloney” and saying, “It is real hard being honest with the American people when you’re not honest with yourself.”

“He doesn’t know what he believes and that is why it is impossible for him to articulate a coherent message to the American people. Because he doesn’t believe it,” Shapiro said.

Pennsylvania governor dodges VP questions again

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, under consideration to become Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the November election, batted away question after question about it.

He wouldn’t answer questions about what qualities he’d bring to the ticket, whether he’d accept an offer or whether he’s planning on meeting with Harris over the weekend.

“Ya’ll think I’m going to tell you what I’m doing? Come on,” he said Friday to laughter from attendees at a news conference on higher education policy at Cheyney University, a historically Black university about 15 miles (24 kilometers) outside Philadelphia.

Shapiro did say that he last spoke to Harris last Sunday and that he hopes to be in attendance at a rally planned for Tuesday in Philadelphia with her and whomever she selects as her vice presidential running mate.

Shapiro canceled a suite of fundraisers he had planned to attend in New York on Saturday, although his press secretary declined to say why.

Harris campaign to bring on new advisers, including Obama campaign veterans, AP source says

Friday's announcement that Harris had secured enough votes from Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee came as her campaign reorganized its senior staff — bringing on a new coterie of senior advisers and veterans of the successful campaigns of former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The campaign is bringing on David Plouffe, who was campaign manager for Obama’s 2008 presidential bid, as a senior adviser focusing on the pathway for the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win, and former Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, who will advise on messaging and strategy for the Harris campaign.

Plouffe will end his consulting efforts on behalf of TikTok, the controversial social media app, as well as a podcast with 2016 Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway that had drawn scrutiny and criticism, according to a person familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity.