Joe Biden was nominated officially by the Democratic Party as the candidate for the US Presidential Elections 2020.
Biden confirmed the news on Twitter. "It is the honor of my life to accept the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States of America." he tweeted.
It is the honor of my life to accept the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States of America. #DemConvention
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 19, 2020
The Former Vice President gathered enough support from delegates to be declared the Democratic presidential nominee.
"Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and I'll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Biden said in his address to his supporters.
Biden on Tuesday was nominated in a virtual roll call at the Democratic National Convention that followed nominating speeches by US Senator Chris Coons and US Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, both Democrats from Biden`s home state of Delaware, a US media outlet reported.
In the roll call, Biden was supported by a total of 3,558 delegates, compared to 1,151 which went in Bernie Sanders' favour. Delegations from 57 states and territories exercised their franchise to nominate candidates based on the results of the presidential primaries.
The four-day convention was largely virtual due to the coronavirus. Delegates from around the country cast votes remotely to confirm Biden as the nominee.
Meanwhile, It must be noted that Biden had already announced Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, making her the first black woman, and the first woman of Indian descent in US history to run on a major-party U.S. presidential ticket.
Harris is a 55-year-old senator from California who also attempted to run for President in the White House. She became the second black female U.S. senator in history when elected in 2016.
With Harris as Biden's pick for VP, he is looking to mobilise the black vote amidst tremendous social unrest over racial injustice in the country. Also, Biden has been under mounting pressure to have a black woman as his running mate.
The African American vote will be crucial in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where Trump narrowly prevailed in 2016, as well as Republican-leaning southern states like Georgia and Florida.