Signs marking states’ seating sections are installed and adjusted ahead of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 15, 2024 in Chicago. The convention will be held Aug. 19-22. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.)
WASHINGTON — Just a little over a month after she became a candidate for president in the biggest shakeup in generations of presidential politics, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday will deliver a widely anticipated speech accepting the Democratic nomination at the party’s convention in Chicago.
Harris’ ascent to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden changed course and said he would not seek reelection has breathed new life into the Democratic bid, with polls showing Harris — who is already the party’s official nominee after a virtual roll call earlier this month — faring much better than Biden was against Republican rival Donald Trump.
Over the course of four days, Democrats will look to capitalize on their base’s newfound enthusiasm for the campaign, with leading speakers aiming to rally the faithful around the party’s positions on reproductive rights, gun safety and voting rights, while making a strong pitch to young voters. Harris will also be expected to further lay out her policy positions.
Harris’ nomination is historic. The daughter of immigrants, Harris is the first Black and South Asian woman selected to lead a major party ticket. She would be the first woman of any race to guide the nation as chief executive.
The party has not released an official detailed schedule of speakers, but a convention official confirmed that “current and past presidents are expected to participate in convention programming.” Biden and two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as former nominee Hillary Clinton, will all speak, according to the New York Times.
Vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to address the convention Wednesday evening, with Harris’ acceptance speech closing out the convention Thursday, the convention official said.
The evening programming block will run from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. the rest of the week.
In addition to the usual television broadcasts, the convention will livestream on several social media platforms, including YouTube, X, Instagram and TikTok. The official live stream will be available on DemConvention.com.
Scores of Democratic caucus and council meetings, as well as state delegation breakfasts and gatherings, are also scheduled throughout the week’s daytime hours. Media organizations and outside groups are also holding daytime events that will feature Democratic officeholders and candidates.
Protests are also expected over the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with the backdrop of a delegation of uncommitted voters who oppose the war.
As many as 25,000 protestors are expected over the course of the convention, according to DemList, a newsletter for Democratic officials and allies.
A contest transformed
Harris’ entry into the race, nearly immediately after Biden announced on July 21 he would no longer seek reelection, energized Democrats distressed over Biden’s poor showings in polls against Trump, whose reelection bid Biden turned back in 2020.
A Monmouth University poll published Aug. 14 showed a huge jump in enthusiasm for Democrats. The survey found 85% of Democratic respondents were excited about the Harris-Trump race. By comparison, only 46% of Democratic respondents said in June they were excited about a Biden-Trump race.
Harris is also seeing better polling numbers in matchups against Trump, with battleground-state and national surveys consistently shifting toward the Democratic ticket since Biden left the race.
Polls of seven battleground states published by The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter on Aug. 14 showed Harris narrowly leading in five states — Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and tied in Georgia and trailing in Nevada. All were improvements from Biden’s standing in the same poll in May.
An Aug. 14 survey from Quinnipiac University showed Harris with a 48%-45% edge in Pennsylvania. The 3-point advantage for Harris was within the poll’s margin of error.
Democrats hope to carry the momentum through the convention. Polls typically favor a party during and immediately after its national party gathering.
Despite the recent polling, Harris and Walz continue to describe themselves as underdogs in the race.
Campaign themes
In her short time on the campaign trail, Harris has emphasized a few core messages.
She’s made reproductive rights a central focus, including the slogan “We are not going back” in her stump speech after describing Republicans’ position on abortion. Additionally, a Texas woman who had to leave the state for an emergency abortion will speak at the DNC, according to Reuters.
Harris has also played up her background as a prosecutor, drawing a contrast with Trump’s legal troubles.
Walz has highlighted his working-class background and military service, while attacking Republican positions to restrict reproductive rights and ban certain books in schools.
Walz’s first solo campaign stop since Harris selected him as her running mate was at a union convention, where he emphasized his union background as a high school teacher.
Walz was not initially considered the favorite to be Harris’ running mate, but his appeal as a Midwesterner with a record of winning tough elections and enacting progressive policies led to his selection Aug. 6.
Harris has faced criticism for not sitting down for a formal media interview or holding a press conference since she became a candidate.
Platform in flux
Democrats have not finalized their platform for 2024. Adopting a party platform is generally among the official items at a convention.
The party set a draft platform in July just eight days before Biden dropped his reelection bid. The document centered on the theme of “finishing the job” and mentioned Biden, then the presumptive nominee, 50 times and Harris 12.
Party spokespeople did not respond to an inquiry this week about plans for an update to the platform.
Reproductive rights will likely be a focus point of any policy wishlist.
Harris, during her time as vice president, has led the administration’s messaging on reproductive rights after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in the summer of 2022.
In her campaign speeches, she has often stressed the need to “trust women” and that the government should not be deciding reproductive health.
Harris has often promised that if she is elected, she will restore those reproductive rights, but unless Democrats control a majority in the U.S. House and 60 Senate votes, it’s unlikely she would be able to achieve that promise.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in that Supreme Court decision, Democrats have campaigned on reproductive rights that expand beyond abortion and include protections for in vitro fertilization.
The 2020 party platform focused on recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, quality health care, investing in education, protecting democracy and combating climate change.
Democrats are likely to continue to criticize the Project 2025 playbook — a blueprint by the Heritage Foundation, a think tank, to implement conservative policies across the federal government should Trump win in November.
Trump has disavowed the document, but has not detailed his own policy plans.
Chicago conventions
The Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago, a city with a long history of hosting the event. Democrats have held their convention in Chicago 11 times, first in 1864 and most recently in 1996.
This year’s will be the first in-person Democratic National Convention since 2016. It was upended due to the coronavirus pandemic and held virtually in 2020.
Throughout the four-day convention, there will be speeches and side events hosted by state Democratic party leaders.
The ceremonial roll call vote with delegates on the convention floor will take place Tuesday. The vice presidential nomination speech by Walz will be Wednesday night and on Thursday night, Harris will give her nomination acceptance speech.
The city is also preparing for massive protests from several groups on reproductive rights, LGBTQ protections, housing and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to WBEZ News.
The City Council of Chicago in January approved a ceasefire resolution, with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson the tiebreaker, making it the largest city to call for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, in which more than 40,000 Palestinians have died.
The war followed an Oct. 7 attack from Hamas, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed in Israel and hundreds taken hostage.
Road to nomination
Harris’ acceptance speech will cap a five-year journey to her party’s nomination.
In 2019, the California senator announced a bid for president in the next year’s election, but dropped out before the first primary or caucus votes were cast after she failed to catch on with Democratic voters.
Biden later picked her as a running mate, and the two defeated Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence in the 2020 election.
Biden launched a reelection campaign for 2024, but stepped aside after a disastrous debate performance in June spurred questions about his ability to campaign and serve for another four-year term.
After Biden bowed out, Harris quickly secured 99% of delegates to become the party’s likely nominee. The virtual five-day vote secured her official nomination.
With less than three months until Election Day, Harris and Walz already have sprinted through battleground states including Arizona, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Their campaign has also pulled in more than $300 million, according to the campaign. Official Federal Election Commission records will be released in mid-October.
Harris and Trump have agreed to a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia. Trump proposed two more debates, and Harris has said she would be open to another one between the first debate and Election Day.
Walz and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio have agreed to an Oct. 1 debate on CBS News, in New York City.
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