The nation’s Democratic leaders open their national party convention Monday with diverging themes as they receive a celebratory welcome to Chicago and offer a bittersweet farewell to President Joe Biden.
The call-to-order of the convention — the first in-person gathering of Democratic officials in eight years after the pandemic collapsed the 2020 event in Milwaukee — follows a series of dramatic events over the past two months that has culminated in Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the party’s newly minted presidential nominee.
With delegates preparing to celebrate Harris’ acceptance of her nomination as the nation’s first Black and Asian American major party candidate, Biden is expected to take the stage on opening night for what figures to be a poignant sendoff as the party thanks him for his decades of service while swiftly moving ahead toward what has become a more energized and competitive Nov. 5 general election contest against former Republican President Donald Trump.
On Sunday, Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN’s “State of the Union” that while there remains “an enormous amount of reverence for Joe Biden” among Democrats, the change at the top of the ticket has energized party officials and voters alike.
“There is a danger on the horizon here, and that is that Donald Trump might become president again, and it’s a danger that a majority of Americans will reject, but they need to know that who they’re voting for is somebody that they can be excited and electrified by,” Pritzker said. “And I think they weren’t feeling that about Joe Biden.
“Having said that, this is a man who’s accomplished more in three and a half years than most presidents get done in eight. So we’re going to see a celebration of him. We’re also going to see how Kamala Harris has brought the party together,” he said.
State Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, who is also chair of the state Democratic Party, said she thinks Biden will one day be “viewed as one of the best presidents we ever had. So, it is like a farewell.”
“He’s been a man of just public service, but really thinking about the country first in this decision-making,” she said. “His selfless decision was all about the country.”
Even before the convention began, organizers announced new details for the made-for-TV event. The ceremonial roll call of the states, using some of the novel video concepts developed during 2020’s pandemic convention, will be held Tuesday — though Harris was officially voted the presidential nomination on Aug. 6 to comply with state ballot laws in Ohio.
In addition, former first lady Michelle Obama was announced as a convention speaker, joining her husband, former President Barack Obama.
Republicans, meanwhile, announced their counterprogramming during the Democratic convention. While former President Donald Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio are set to hit battleground states, the GOP will have a contingent of speakers in Chicago to try to counter the campaign push by Democrats.
When Chicago was chosen as host city with Biden’s backing nearly 500 days ago, the convention was planned as an event to showcase the president’s first-term accomplishments.
But the sales job began to become much more difficult on June 27 after Biden’s halting performance during a nationally televised CNN debate against Trump. The lackluster effort sparked calls from leaders within the Democratic Party for the 81-year-old president to leave the race.
An assassination attempt on Trump just weeks later, on July 13, and the former president’s theatrical appearances days later at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee made a Trump victory over Biden seem more assured.
Yet eight days later Biden stepped down from the race and endorsed Harris as the nominee. It forced a furious revamping of the programming for the convention to tout the Democrats’ reset ticket of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“The longest time, I was too damn young,” Biden said last week at his first joint appearance with presidential candidate Harris, recounting that he was 29 when he was elected to the Senate from Delaware in 1973. “Now, I’m too damn old.”
Illinois’ senior U.S. senator, Dick Durbin, 79, who served with Biden in the Senate, said the president’s departure from the race and his valedictory appearance at the convention has generated “mixed feelings.”
“He’s been my personal friend for 30 years. I think he has a remarkable record as a president,” said Durbin, who is also scheduled to speak on opening night. “But I think he’s made the right decision and I respect him for it.”
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said the convention will be a celebration for Biden because he “saved our country four years ago” in defeating Trump.
“What this country was going through because of Donald Trump was unbelievable and Joe Biden stepped right in and turned that ship around,” said Welch, of Hillside.
“The decision he made to pass the torch to Kamala Harris is a perfect example of who he is and what he stands for and it’s all about putting country first, and that’s translating into what you’re seeing in the excitement, not just here in Illinois but all across the country,” he said.
For Biden, speaking on opening night — instead of the convention’s final night when the presidential nominating acceptance speech occurs — is likely not how he had expected the 2024 race to play out or how he’d finally receive the in-person adulation of delegates after being denied it four years ago during the virtual DNC due to COVID-19.
The president and first lady Jill Biden are scheduled to be in Chicago only on Monday — an indication of how the party wants to move on to focus on Harris as he cedes the mainstage.
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The quick coalescing of Democrats around Harris’ candidacy and the energy it has generated has served another purpose — providing a cover of unity to overshadow some tensions and divisions within the “big tent” party.
There also have been big changes in the state’s Democratic leadership since Chicago first sought and received the convention in the spring last year. At the time, Lori Lightfoot was the city’s mayor and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Homewood was the state’s Democratic chair. Since then, Pritzker installed ally Hernandez to lead the party and Chicago voters elected progressive union organizer Brandon Johnson as the city’s mayor.
Johnson is scheduled to be among the first night’s convention speakers, a tradition of host-city mayors who use the stage to not only promote their hometown but themselves before a national audience.
On Sunday, the former activist-turned mayor appeared on ABC’s “This Week” program and sought to walk a fine line between his endorsement of a cease-fire in the Gaza war — which he recently called “genocidal” — and his full-throated support for Harris. Johnson stressed the Democratic Party “can condemn terrorism and call for peace” at the same time.
“Of course, I’ve been a part of demonstrations, but so was Fannie Lou Hamer,” Johnson said before noting the civil rights activist was born close to his family lineage’s Mississippi hometown. “And so, the very protests and demonstrations that allow for Fannie Lou Hamer to have a seat in this convention in 1968, the son of Sallis, Mississippi, gets to welcome the Mississippi delegation to Chicago.”
Johnson’s comments reflect some of the divisions Democrats are experiencing nationally between progressives and moderates. The split has been exacerbated by U.S. military aid to Israel for its war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and Israeli attacks that have now left 40,000 people dead.
That issue has already helped cost two members of “The Squad” their seats next year. Democratic Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York, both part of the informal but politically influential group, lost Democratic primaries after a pro-Israel super PAC funneled $25 million in ads against the two due to their pro-Palestinian positions. But another Squad member, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, recently won her primary.
What’s more, there’s also about 30 “unaffiliated” delegates chosen by Democrats in several state party primaries who were elected as a protest to Biden’s policies backing Israel and because of their desire to play a role at the convention.
Johnson’s early tenure also has been filled with some ups and downs locally with fellow Democrats. The mayor and Pritzker have had differences, largely involving the mayor’s push for more money from Springfield, which has largely been rebuffed.
There also have been issues between the two over funding and housing immigrants sent to Chicago from Texas, state funding for Chicago Public Schools and even Johnson’s embrace of a new Chicago Bears domed stadium on the lakefront that would count heavily on state bonding and other resources.
Despite the internal skirmishes, Tom Bowen, a Democratic political consultant, said the differences within the party are being overpowered by a newfound motivation to win in November.
“Donald Trump being reelected obviously scared the bejesus out of the party and being spared that fate is an incredibly unifying force,” Bowen said.
“Remember, the Democratic Party isn’t really a party; it’s a collection of coalitions. So there’s always tension between all those different coalitions about who gets what,” he said. “But nobody gives a crap about anybody’s differences until that guy Trump is gone.”
State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, an Arlington Heights Democrat, said there will be unity but “we’re also going to hold each other accountable.”
“We believe in our values. And we believe in them when it’s hard and we believe in them when it’s easy,” she said. “You’ll see a lot of celebration. But we will still be pushing each other to have those hard conversations and think about our policies going forward,” she said.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen of Moline, who has become a GOP target for the fall, said, “Diversity is our strength but unity is our power and you’re going to see that at the DNC, that we’re going to be unified as a Democratic Party.”
State Rep. Nick Smith of Chicago acknowledged the energy surrounding the new ticket is playing a unifying role among Democrats.
“It’ll take that unity to win in November,” Smith said. “Now, what happens after November, I’m not a fortune teller.”
Chicago Tribune’s Alice Yin and Dan Petrella contributed.
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