Kamala Harris has Biden’s endorsement as Democratic nominee. Here are her next steps

Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday received President Joe Biden’s endorsement to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket in the race against Donald Trump.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a Sunday statement. “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

Biden’s endorsement puts Harris on a glidepath to the Democratic nomination. The 59-year old vice president offers a younger alternative for Democrats who grew increasingly concerned about Biden’s age and fitness following his disastrous debate performance against Trump in June.

“Democrats will rally around her. I’m sure they will,” said Carol Hamilton, a member of Biden’s campaign finance committee, told CNBC in an interview. “You can’t get a much better resume than hers running for president.”

Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, would be the first Black woman and individual of South Asian descent to secure the nomination of a major party. But she still has several tasks on her to-do list before anything becomes official.

Even before Biden announced he would drop out, Democratic donors were reportedly pouring in money to launch a vetting process to select a new vice presidential candidate.

Many of those same names are also on the list of contenders to take the top of the ticket for Democrats who have not immediately endorsed Harris and instead want an open nomination process.

A candidate has to win a majority of delegates to secure the nomination, per the DNC’s rules. If no one wins a simple majority, over 700 superdelegates will cast their own votes. The voting process will repeat itself until a candidate wins a majority and can be officially designated the Democratic nominee.

Should Harris become the official Democratic nominee, she is likely the easiest heir to the Biden campaign’s war chest of donations because her name is already on the Federal Election Commission filings.

“As of right now, there’s some debate between different election lawyers over whether or not the money can be transferred before the nomination is officially made,” said Anna Massoglia, a researcher at the nonprofit campaign finance database OpenSecrets.

She noted that there is a general consensus among election lawyers that believe Harris can “just take over” the Biden campaign’s war chest. But “a very small sliver” of dissenters, as she put it, claim Harris would need to officially become the nominee before she can access the full pot.

If Harris does not ultimately become the nominee, the scenarios become more complicated. Among them, the campaign could convert the funds into a political action committee or issue refunds to donors who would reallocate their gifts.