Democratic Convention Gears Up to Define Harris as Presidential Candidate
Kamala Harris (R) and Tim Walz (L), Aug. 2024. Photo: X/ @realusa_news
August 19, 2024 Hour: 9:17 am
The event will take place in Chicago, a city chosen for being a Democratic stronghold within Midwestern states.
On Monday, the Democratic National Convention will kick off with a dual challenge: delivering a dazzling televised spectacle fueled by the enthusiasm surrounding Kamala Harris’s candidacy while also shaping the narrative around the current vice president, whose proposals remain a mystery to some voters.
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The event, which will run until Thursday, will take place in Chicago, chosen for being a Democratic stronghold within the so-called “blue wall,” a group of Midwestern states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota) that have been crucial for Democratic presidential candidates’ victories over the past three decades.
How Have Conventions Evolved?
In the early days of the U.S., political elites in Congress selected presidential candidates, a system that generated dissatisfaction among those who desired more political participation. As a result, in 1832, Democrats and National Republicans held their first conventions in Baltimore.
However, these early conventions remained the domain of elites, and it wasn’t until the early 20th century that a primary system similar to the current one was adopted, where voters in each state elect delegates who proclaim the candidate. Initially, however, the primary results were not binding.
Everything changed at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where party leaders ignored the primary results that favored anti-Vietnam War candidates and nominated Hubert Humphrey, a supporter of the war who hadn’t even participated in the primaries.
This episode, marked by intense protests, forced the Democratic Party to adopt new rules that gave primary votes—and not the final convention—the most weight in selecting the candidate. The Republican Party followed suit shortly after.
What Is Its Relevance?
Since then, conventions have become a televised spectacle with speeches broadcast during prime time, aimed at mobilizing voters.
Conventions also aim to approve the ideological platform that will guide the party for the next four years and serve to identify new political talents, as happened with Barack Obama, whose speech at the 2004 Democratic convention catapulted him to the presidency in 2008.
Until now, conventions remained the place where delegates cast their votes to officially proclaim the candidate chosen during the primary process, but that has changed this year.
Is Harris Already the Party’s Nominee?
Biden withdrew from the race at the end of July, and Harris emerged as the candidate. The party had to mobilize the states to modify the vote of the majority of the nearly 4,700 delegates elected during the primary process in record time.
Most of those delegates voted for her virtually in early August, officially making her the party’s candidate to face former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump in the November 5 election.
The nomination of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for Vice President is also official because the Democratic Party stipulated that whoever was chosen as the running mate by the presidential candidate would automatically be Harris’s running mate.
Although Harris and Walz are already officially the party’s nominees, the delegates will stage a symbolic vote on Tuesday to declare their support for the new ticket.
Why Is This Convention Crucial for Harris?
With the candidate’s name already decided, the importance now lies in defining the political profile of the narrative surrounding Harris. Despite her experience as vice president, California senator, and state attorney general, many voters consider her a mystery and are unaware of her specific political positions, partly due to contradictions in her statements on certain issues, such as immigration.
To help define her, over four days—from Monday to Thursday—prominent party figures will give speeches defending Harris’s candidacy and denouncing Trump.
According to the schedule, Biden will speak on Monday, followed by Obama on Tuesday, and former President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) on Wednesday. Walz will also speak on Wednesday to accept the vice-presidential nomination. The climax, however, will come on Thursday when Harris formally accepts the nomination in a speech that will close the convention with the traditional shower of balloons and confetti.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
