AOC endorses Kamala Harris as Democratic nominee after warning about lack of 'consensus'

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's presidential nominee, saying she has her "full support to ensure her victory in November."

In a social media post, the lawmaker added that "now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy." "Let's get to work," her message concludes.

AOC's endorsement comes after she had warned about a lack of "consensus" within the party regarding who the candidate should be in case President Joe Biden dropped out.

In a social media post when that scenario was still hypothetical, the representative said: "If you think that there is consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave that they will support Kamala - Vice President Harris - you would be mistaken." "There's no safe option," added Ocasio-Cortez, who was among the few still staunchly supporting Biden before he dropped out.

However, on Sunday she joined the scores of high-ranking Democrats coalescing around Harris following Biden's decision to drop out and endorse her as the candidate. "I am honored to have the President's endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," she said after Biden's statements.

"I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win," she added.

The party has not made any official announcements regarding the presidential candidacy, but the Democratic National Committee's chair, Jaime Harrison, said in a statement that it would "undertake a transparent and orderly process" to select a candidate "who can defeat Donald Trump in November." So far, no Democrats have openly voiced their intention of challenging Harris for the nomination.

Harris holds a series of advantages, among them that she would be able to use the money already been raised for her ticket. That war chest started July with $240 million in cash on hand, compared to $285 million for Trump. Democrats have a month before their national convention to effectively decide who their candidate will be.