Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Democrats Conclude Their Convention Thursday With Their New Standard Bearer, Kamala Harris
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
August 22, 2024

Harris aims to make history and unite Democrats as she accepts the presidential nomination at the convention's finale. (AP/Erin Hooley)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris closes out the Democratic National Convention Thursday night when she accepts her party’s historic presidential nomination and seizes one of her few remaining opportunities to appeal to an audience of millions.

Harris will lay out her vision for the country and prosecute her case against Republican Donald Trump, capping a whirlwind month that began when President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her to replace him atop the Democratic ticket.

Harris’ Three Objectives for Her Speech

Harris has three objectives for her speech, according to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive speech preparations. She’ll share her background rising from a middle-class family to protect others as a prosecutor, contrast her “optimistic” vision with Trump’s “dark” agenda and evoke a sense of patriotism, the official said.

Harris spoke briefly to the convention on Monday, when she thanked Biden and celebrated his record as president, and again on Tuesday, when the beginning of her rally in Milwaukee was streamed into the convention hall after Democrats reaffirmed their nomination of her with a state-by-state roll call.

Among others who will speak before Harris on Thursday are Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, civil rights leader Al Sharpton and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. The singer Pink also will perform.

Harris’ Historic Nomination and Potential Presidency

Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, will be the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to accept a major party’s presidential nomination. If elected, she would be the first female U.S. president. She’ll speak a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her choice for running mate, thanked the packed Chicago arena for ” bringing the joy ” to the election.

“We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple, reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates hoisted vertical placards reading “Coach Walz” in red, white and blue.

Many Americans had never heard of Walz until Harris made him her running mate, and the speech was an opportunity to introduce himself. He leaned into his experiences as a football coach, his time in the National Guard and his recounting of his family’s fertility struggles — all parts of his biography that Republicans have questioned in the days since Harris picked him.

While it’s unclear if the speech will attract new voters, he further charmed Democratic supporters with his background and helped to balance Harris’ coastal roots as a cultural representative of Midwestern states whose voters she needs this fall.

Gus Walz, the governor’s 17-year-old son, openly wept throughout the speech, wiping his eyes with tissues while watching from the front row of the convention hall directly in front of the governor.

Through tears he mouthed, “That’s my dad.”

Harris’ Background and Republican Attacks

Despite Harris’ prominence as vice president, she’s spent four years in Biden’s shadow, leaving some Americans unclear on her personal history and her political vision for the country.

Republicans have raced to fill in the gaps, accusing Harris of being a “communist” and “dangerously liberal.” Trump has also targeted her race, while his running mate JD Vance describes her as a “chameleon.”

Harris’ team has emphasized her law enforcement background, including her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Her campaign imploded that year before a single primary vote was cast, but Biden chose her as his running mate, catapulting her to the national stage.

Harris’ Rise to Presidential Nominee

Although Harris initially struggled as vice president, her reputation grew when she became the administration’s leading advocate for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats harnessed anger over the decision to stem their losses in the last midterm elections.

When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With the help of his endorsement, she swiftly unified the Democratic Party behind her candidacy, resetting a presidential race that Trump had appeared on track to win.

“We know what we’re dealing with in this moment,” Harris said this week in Milwaukee. “And we must remember — as the generations of Americans before us who led the fight for freedom — the baton is now in our hands.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

DON'T MISS

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

DON'T MISS

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

DON'T MISS

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

DON'T MISS

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

DON'T MISS

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to Be Attorney General

DON'T MISS

Bluesky Has Added 1 Million Users Since the US Election as People Seek Alternatives to X

DON'T MISS

Trump Picks Rep. Matt Gaetz to Be His AG, Ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

DON'T MISS

California Researchers Discover Mysterious, Gelatinous New Sea Slug

UP NEXT

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

UP NEXT

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

UP NEXT

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

UP NEXT

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to Be Attorney General

UP NEXT

Bluesky Has Added 1 Million Users Since the US Election as People Seek Alternatives to X

UP NEXT

Trump Picks Rep. Matt Gaetz to Be His AG, Ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

UP NEXT

California Researchers Discover Mysterious, Gelatinous New Sea Slug

UP NEXT

Dallas Long, Olympic Gold Medalist and Among the Best Shot-Putters Ever, Dies at 84

UP NEXT

Trump Picks Sen. Marco Rubio as His Secretary of State

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

1 hour ago

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

1 hour ago

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

2 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to Be Attorney General

2 hours ago

Bluesky Has Added 1 Million Users Since the US Election as People Seek Alternatives to X

2 hours ago

Trump Picks Rep. Matt Gaetz to Be His AG, Ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

2 hours ago

California Researchers Discover Mysterious, Gelatinous New Sea Slug

2 hours ago

Dallas Long, Olympic Gold Medalist and Among the Best Shot-Putters Ever, Dies at 84

2 hours ago

Trump Picks Sen. Marco Rubio as His Secretary of State

2 hours ago

Trump Meets With Jubilant House GOP and Jokes About a Third Term

3 hours ago

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

Garry Bredefeld and Luis Chavez upended two incumbents to join the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Bredefeld leads Steve Brandau with 54...

49 seconds ago

49 seconds ago

How Will Election Winners Bredefeld and Chavez Fit in as Supervisors?

33 mins ago

California Senate Leader Calls Union ‘Morally Bankrupt’ for Opposing a Vulnerable Democrat

52 mins ago

R&B Concerts, Comedy, & Worship Take Center Stage This Weekend

1 hour ago

Speaker Mike Johnson Wins GOP Nomination to Remain in Job, Faces Full House Vote in New Year

1 hour ago

ICE Immediately Moves to Bolster Surveillance of Illegal Immigrants After Trump Win

2 hours ago

You Can Win a Lexus in This Fresno Telethon Drawing. Get Tickets Now.

2 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to Be Attorney General

2 hours ago

Bluesky Has Added 1 Million Users Since the US Election as People Seek Alternatives to X

Search

Send this to a friend