Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have already secured the party’s nomination in a virtual primary. This year’s Democratic convention now offers the party the opportunity to campaign for its new presidential candidacy.
The convention celebrations will last a week and culminate with Harris’ acceptance speech on Thursday evening.
This year’s convention is already historic. President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month, 107 days before the election. Kamala Harris will be the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major party’s presidential nomination.
Minyon Moore, the chair of the DNC, wrote in an op-ed for theGrio that Harris had “worked day and night” to earn her endorsement from President Joe Biden.
Moore, a former White House political director under Bill Clinton and adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, underscored the importance of Harris’ nomination.
“We stand on the brink of something truly historic – the election of the first female president of the United States and the demonstration to the world of what is possible when we come together as a country,” she wrote.
Here are four things to look for as the convention begins.
1. What arguments will Harris present to voters?
Vice President Harris speaks at a campaign rally on prescription drug prices on August 15, 2024. Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The DNC will be one of Harris’ first major opportunities to reintroduce herself to the country, clarify her policy program and emphasize her credibility. This week, the vice president unveiled an economic plan that focuses on expanding the child tax credit, banning price gouging and lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
At the convention, Harris can further develop her vision for the presidency, even though Biden continues to be named as a candidate in the Democratic Party platform.
Last month, PBS News heard from several voters in swing states who participated in focus groups organized by Republican strategist Sarah Longwell. Some felt they didn’t know enough about Harris’ record, even though they were less than enthusiastic about voting for her opponent, former President Donald Trump. Wendy, a Pennsylvania voter who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, felt Kamala Harris was still an unknown. “She wasn’t very present for most of Biden’s presidency,” she said. “She was elected vice president and then she just kind of disappeared.”
2. Big names and shining lights
Every evening, leading political names take to the DNC stage.
Biden will open the week-long festivities on Monday. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also deliver a speech on the opening night of the convention. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton will address delegates on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Harris will take the stage on Thursday evening to accept her nomination.
Watch Harris’ speech from Thursday in the player above.
Overall, the convention will be more star-studded than its Republican counterpart, with a few daytime and evening events featuring celebrity guests. Actress and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus will moderate a panel of Democratic female governors. Dreyfus played the fictional and sarcastic Vice President Selina Meyer on the HBO series “Veep,” and since Harris officially received the Democratic nomination in early August, social media timelines have been flooded with memes showing how life imitates art.
Singer-songwriter John Legend will headline a party hosted by billionaire Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on Wednesday.
3. Protests in the background
Anger at the Biden administration and its handling of the war between Israel and Hamas is likely to play a role at this year’s DNC, which will feature 30 “undecided” delegates, the result of coordinated protest votes in this year’s primaries.
Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, is home to the largest Palestinian population in the United States. More than 150 coalition groups with thousands of demonstrators are expected to protest against the war in Gaza.
The March on the DNC will take place on various days during the week of the convention. Pro-Palestinian groups will be joined by allied groups protesting for LGBTQ+ rights, access to reproductive care, and other demands.
Deanna Othman, a member of American Muslims for Palestine in Chicago who is organizing one of the protests in the city, told PBS News that “the Democratic Party was complicit and needs to change its policies.” She hopes the planned demonstrations will draw national attention to demand more than “empty promises” from lawmakers.
“The fact that Vice President Harris is not Donald Trump is not enough to get votes,” she added. “The Democratic Party has been in charge and bears responsibility for what happened to the people of Gaza.”
4. The Influencer Convention
In a first for the DNC, the entire week will be streamed via vertical video on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
By broadcasting in a format tailored to social media, the committee hopes to appeal to younger viewers who get their news primarily through these apps. Organizers have also approved more than 200 social media content creators for this year’s congress, offering them a dedicated workspace and the ability to broadcast live directly from the congress hall.
Several popular TikTokers such as Johnny Palmadessa, Elizabeth Booker Houston and Jeremy Jacobowitz are expected to be in attendance.
The convention committee will also roll out a “blue carpet” where surrogates can walk on the online creator and be interviewed. Comedian Matt Friend, best known for his Trump impersonations, will be Snapchat’s “blue carpet” correspondent.
