Kamala Harris was on Tuesday due to unveil her running mate as she stepped up her campaign to beat Donald Trump to the White House.
She was believed to have narrowed her list of candidates to Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota governor Tim Walz.
Ms Harris, the first woman and first black and South Asian person to serve as vice-president, is said to have considered a field of finalists made up of white men with a record of winning over rural, white or independent voters.
Mr Shapiro, 51, is a rising star in the Democratic party with strong approval ratings in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes make it a must-win state for both Ms Harris, inset, and Mr Trump.
Mr Walz, 60, serves as governor in a solidly-Democratic state and has proven appeal to rural, white voters, who in recent years have voted broadly for Mr Trump.
A campaign official said no calls were being made about a choice last night, suggesting Ms Harris had not told her potential running mates who would get the job. Former California attorney general Ms Harris became the Democratic party’s standard bearer after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign last month.
Since then, she has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and recast the race against Mr Trump with a boost of energy from her party’s base. Delegates selected Ms Harris to be the party’s presidential nominee, according to final vote results released late yesterday by the Democratic National Committee.
Ms Harris officially claimed the nomination following a five-day online voting process, receiving nearly 4,600 votes, which it said was 99 per cent of participating delegates.
She was expected to appear with her running mate at an event in Philadelphia this evening. Her selection will demonstrate her thinking about her best pathway to winning the presidency in the November 5 election.
Republican Mr Trump is the first former or sitting president to be convicted of a crime. Americans typically focus on the person at the top of the ticket when choosing whom to vote for, but vice-presidential candidates can help or hurt their running mates based on their backgrounds, home state popularity and ability to sway important constituencies or independent voters.
