Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) said he slept only a few hours after hearing Vice President Kamala Harris speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday.
He was on the plane back to Oregon on Friday morning, but he still felt the energy from Chicago.
“The convention was incredible,” Merkley said. “Four intense days and so much exuberance and joy. It reminded me of 2008. We’ve been through a difficult time in America. We’ve been through a dark time, and you know what, we have a chance to change that.”
Merkley stressed that the focus of the convention was on the power of women and young people, drawing a contrast to former President Donald Trump.
“If you compare Trump’s closing speech at his convention with Kamala Harris’s (on Thursday), they are dramatically different. One is a policy-oriented approach to economic vitality at home, the economy of opportunity and security abroad, the other was half the time a confused string of insults about who knows what. If you’re going to pick a leader between those two approaches, I’m going to take the leader who has an honest discussion about real problems and real solutions and works together, not the person who relies on hate, division and smear tactics.”
The presidential election will take place on November 5th.
