Democrats open their convention transformed by Harris’ ascendance but facing lingering questions
CHICAGO– A renewed Democratic Party is reintroducing itself to a divided country this week, having been transformed by the money, momentum, relief and even joy that followed the nomination of vice president Kamala Harris ‘ rise to the top of his list.
The whiplash of the past month culminates in a convention that begins Monday in Chicago. Above all, the four-day gathering of thousands of activists and party leaders from across the country is intended to celebrate and strengthen Harris as president. Joe Bidens replacement and boost her campaign to defeat the Republicans Donald Trump in november.
Just beneath the surface, real questions are emerging about the depth of Harris’ newfound support, the breadth of her coalition and the strength of her movement. Less than a month ago, Democrats were deeply divided over foreign policy, political strategy and Biden himselfthat was to cling after his disastrous debate by suggesting that he had a better chance than any Democrat, including Harris, of beating Trump.
Far from the formality that many modern party conventions have become, this week’s event will offer many Americans their first extended look at Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. How Democrats present Harris and Walz will be crucial, especially as Trump wages a weeklong effort to undermine their message.
A possible distraction will be thousands of progressive protesters who are expected to descend on Chicago to condemn the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Harris’ allies hope the pro-Palestinian protesters won’t overshadow the official program, which features a slate of current and former Democratic luminaries.
“Democrats are going to be excited, excited and united in that convention,” said one of those stars, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was a finalist to be Harris’ running mate. “And it’s critical that we pursue the case against Donald Trump and the chaos that he would cause — and that we leave that convention even more united, even more excited, even more enthusiastic for the last 75 days of this campaign.”
Shapiro said he welcomed protesters at the convention, “as long as the protest is peaceful and community rules are followed.”
Part of Harris and Walz’s introduction will be to first bid a graceful farewell to the 81-year-old sitting president, who scheduled to give the keynote speech Monday.
The Democratic Party would likely have been in a much worse position if Biden had held on to the nomination. He was faced with growing concerns about his mental and physical acuity after struggling to finish sentences during the debate.
By deciding to step aside and endorse Harris, the 81-year-old president will receive a hero’s welcome in his final appearance in the spotlight, 52 years after he was elected senator from Delaware.
Biden plans to offer a broad endorsement of Harris and a sharp critique of Trump before he leaves Chicago, allowing the program to focus on the vice president he picked four years ago.
Trump has sought to stoke tensions over Biden’s departure. He called Biden’s speaking slot on Monday “convention death valley,” suggesting the president would get lower ratings than speakers on other nights. And as he has done for weeks, Trump described the convention itself as “rigged” because it was Biden, not Harris, who won 14 million votes and collected delegates state by state.
“She got no votes,” Trump said.
The convention will focus on the the party’s potential to make historyHarris wants to become the first woman, the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to reach the White House.
“I wasn’t sure I would get to see this particular moment in my lifetime, to see a Black woman who is now about to become our next president,” said Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, one of the nation’s highest-ranking Black female elected officials.
Stratton recalled Hillary Clinton’s defeat to Trump eight years ago, a loss in which she lost key battleground states even as she led the national popular vote.
“I remember in 2016 when we hit the glass ceiling, the Republican response was to destroy the rights that got us there,” Stratton said. “This is a new opportunity.”
Harris will try to use the convention to claim some of the credit for what she and Biden have accomplished, while also trying to show that she recognizes that voters want more. Heading into Chicago, unveiled the first parts of its policy platform aimed at tackling inflation and the costs of food, housing and childcare.
Democrats will remain abortion access is central for voters, who are betting that the issue will propel them to success, as it has done in other major elections since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.
This week, every living Democratic president and first lady except the ailing Jimmy Carter, plus a long list of federal, state and local officials and activists, appears.
It will be a contrast to last month’s Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, where former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Mike Pence, among other high-profile Republicans, stayed away from the event because of Trump’s antipathy toward them.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who investigated Trump’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and who supports Harris, is expected to speak this week.
With just days to go before early voting begins in some places in September, recent polls show the race is neck and neck nationally and in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. And polls show Trump still ahead of how Americans view the two on key issues like the economy and immigration.
Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and longtime politician who is attending his 13th Democratic convention this week, warned that the euphoria Democrats are feeling over Harris’ rise could obscure the true state of the campaign.
He noted that the Republican convention in Milwaukee was a veritable Trump coronation, with Democrats reeling from fear and uncertainty. Now it is Trump who seems to be faltering as he searches for the right message to stop Harris’ rise.
The lesson McAuliffe draws from this is that you should never assume a campaign is decided. Remember that the outcome depends on getting 270 electoral votes by winning the right states.
The former president is not conceding to the Democrats this week. He will visit a different swing state each day — starting with Pennsylvania, followed by Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada at the end of the week.
Trump’s campaign has also sent high-profile allies to Chicago to hold daily press conferences. The lineup includes Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.
“We have four days to say that the country is going to look at Kamala Harris, we’re going to look at Tim Walz. We’re going to look at their agenda, what they stand for, who we are,” McAuliffe said. “It’s going to be a close election. That’s just where our country is right now.”
Whatever happens this week, both sides will be watching with bated breath as Harris writes a new chapter in a campaign that has broken all precedents.
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Barrow reported from Atlanta. AP reporter Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.