Kamala Harris wins enough support to clinch Democratic nomination

Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for president.

A survey by the Associated Press on Monday evening said she had received the endorsement of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting. That means Ms Harris is on course to be crowned the party's standard bearer and take on Republican Donald Trump in November's presidential election.

It becomes official when party delegates hold a roll call vote ahead of next month's Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. Delegates are people who are selected to represent their electoral area. Their pledges of support are non-binding until the vote but unlikely to change.

No-one has publicly stepped forward to challenge Ms Harris since President Joe Biden left the race on Sunday. He found himself under mounting pressure from senior members of his party following his stumbling debate performance against Trump. If the total holds between now and when delegates cast their votes, scheduled to take place from 1-7 August, Ms Harris would formally clinch the party's nomination.