Politics is rarely as clean as the history books make it look. When people ask how was kamala chosen, they usually think of a single moment—a phone call or a dramatic reveal. But the truth is, there are actually two very different stories here. One is the 2020 "vetting marathon" where she became Vice President, and the other is the 32-hour lightning strike in 2024 that put her at the top of the ticket.
Both were messy. Both were calculated. And honestly, both almost didn't happen.
The 2020 Veepstakes: A Process That Felt Like a Reality Show
Back in March 2020, Joe Biden was on a debate stage with Bernie Sanders when he made a massive pledge: he would choose a woman as his running mate. That narrowed the field immediately, but it also started a months-long, "painfully public" audition process that some insiders compared to The Bachelor.
Biden didn't just pick Harris because he liked her. He had a massive vetting committee, including former Senator Chris Dodd and Eric Garcetti, who spent months digging into every corner of the lives of about 20 different women. They looked at everything: taxes, old speeches, even what their neighbors thought of them.
By the time the summer of 2020 rolled around, the list had been whittled down to a few finalists:
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- Susan Rice: Former National Security Advisor with deep experience but no history of running for office.
- Elizabeth Warren: The progressive powerhouse who had a massive following but was seen by some as too liberal for the "Blue Wall" states.
- Gretchen Whitmer: Michigan’s governor who was popular in a must-win state but was relatively new to the national stage.
- Kamala Harris: The Senator from California.
The choice wasn't a slam dunk. In fact, Chris Dodd reportedly had major concerns because Harris had attacked Biden so sharply during the primary debates—remember the whole "that little girl was me" moment regarding busing? Dodd apparently asked if she felt any remorse, and she basically shrugged it off as "politics." Some Biden loyalists found that cold.
But Biden looked past it. He cared about "personal chemistry," and it didn't hurt that Harris had been close friends with his late son, Beau Biden, when they were both state attorneys general. On August 11, 2020, Biden finally made the call from his home in Delaware.
Why she beat the others
- Safety: She had already run for president, so the team figured most of her "skeletons" were already out of the closet.
- The Moment: Following the protests after George Floyd’s death, there was immense pressure to choose a Black woman.
- The "Prosecutor" Vibe: Biden wanted a "joyful warrior" who could take the fight to Donald Trump on a debate stage.
The 2024 "Miracle": 32 Hours That Changed Everything
If 2020 was a marathon, 2024 was a sprint. On July 21, 2024, at 1:46 PM ET, Joe Biden posted a letter to X (formerly Twitter) saying he was dropping out. For about 27 minutes, the world didn't know who would replace him. Then, he endorsed Harris.
When you look at how was kamala chosen for the 2024 nomination, it wasn't a primary. It was a "soft coup" of momentum.
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Harris didn't wait for permission. Within minutes of the endorsement, she and her team were on the phones. They reportedly made over 100 calls to party leaders, governors, and delegates in just a few hours. The goal? To make her nomination look inevitable so that no one else—like Gavin Newsom or Josh Shapiro—would even try to run against her.
It worked.
By the evening of July 22—barely 32 hours later—the Associated Press reported she had enough delegate support to clinch the nomination. There was no "mini-primary." There was no "family food fight." The party elders, like Nancy Pelosi and the Clintons, fell in line because they realized there was simply no time to do anything else.
The Rules Nobody Knew Existed
A lot of people think the Democratic National Committee (DNC) just "handed" her the job, but there were actual rules involved. Since Biden had won the primaries, his delegates were technically "unbound" once he dropped out. They could vote for whoever they wanted.
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To keep things legal, the DNC set up a "virtual roll call." To even get on the ballot, a candidate needed signatures from at least 300 delegates. Harris got nearly 4,000. No one else even tried to get the signatures. It was a masterclass in political maneuvering. By the time the actual convention in Chicago started in August, she was already the official nominee.
Key takeaways for the history books
If you're trying to understand the mechanics of how she rose to power, keep these points in mind:
- Vetting is king: Her 2020 selection was based on a "no surprises" policy.
- Timing over everything: In 2024, the "loopholes" in Rule 13J of the delegate selection rules allowed delegates to pivot to her almost instantly.
- Endorsements create gravity: Once Biden and the state party chairs signaled their support, the money followed. Harris raised over $200 million in the first week.
If you want to dig deeper into the legal side of this, look into the DNC’s 2024 Virtual Roll Call rules. They explain exactly how the party bypassed the traditional convention floor vote to ensure they met state ballot deadlines. Understanding those rules is the best way to see how the party infrastructure actually functions when the stakes are at their highest.