Democrats formally nominate Joe Biden for president

The Democratic Party has formally made Joe Biden its presidential nominee, a position he has sought for more than 30 years and through three White House bids.

Delegates from each state took a roll call vote during the second night of the virtual Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, awarding Biden the position. Usually, each state calls out the number of delegates that different candidates won there during the primary in a dramatic fashion in a sports arena or large hall — but the count was all done online this time.

Biden actually clinched the nomination in early June. His other challengers in the once-crowded Democratic presidential primary had left the race, and the votes of seven states and the District of Columbia gave him the 1,991 delegates to the convention needed to lock it up.

A former senator from Delaware and vice president, Biden first ran for president in 1988 and tried again in 2008 before launching his 2020 campaign last year.

Donald Trump faced only token opposition in his party’s primary and will formally be renominated as his party’s candidate during the virtual Republican National Convention next week.