A number of Democratic delegates from Alabama noted what they described as a new sense of energy around Kamala Harris’ campaign at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, while also drawing a sharp contrast between the DNC and its Republican counterpart last month.
“Our theme is hope and joy, and I think our convention is going to be totally different from what you saw at the Republican convention,” Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, told Alabama Daily News this week. Travis is a delegate for Vice President Kamala Harris.
While Harris officially won the nomination earlier this month, the first time a nominee was picked ahead of the convention, delegates held a “celebratory roll call” vote Tuesday night to celebrate Harris winning the nomination.
“It’s not going to be folks tearing off their shirts and doing that type of thing,” he said, referencing Hulk Hogan’s appearance at the Republican National Convention.
Travis is one of 52 delegates from Alabama participating in the DNC this year, and argued that the excitement around Vice President Harris could not only be seen at the convention, but had “resonated across the country,” pointing in particular to her recent proposal to give first-time homebuyers up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance.
“When you help put people in homes, guess what happens?” he said. “Local communities and schools gain more money because you’ve got revenue, you’ve got something to tax. And the pride of home ownership makes a big difference.”
Another delegate, Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, also spoke to the excitement at the convention around Harris. While initially disappointed at President Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of the race, Coleman said she has now put her full support behind Harris leading the Democratic ticket.
“(Biden) got a chance to say (he) picked Harris because (he) believed that she would be ready to be president on day one,” Coleman told ADN Tuesday. “The energy is going to challenge us to go out in the streets and be ambassadors for Harris and Coach (Tim) Walz, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Biden’s decision to endorse Harris and drop out of the race came not long after his poor debate performance in June against former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, along with other stumbles that saw Democratic leadership and party donors push Biden to end his campaign.
Since leading the ticket, Harris has turned around Biden’s struggling poll numbers that frequently saw him lagging behind Trump by several points. In a recent Morning Consult poll released Tuesday, Harris led Trump by four points, 48% to 44%.
This year’s DNC will be Coleman’s sixth time attending the convention, and like Travis, noted that the differences between the two countering conventions were, in her opinion, extreme.
“When you look at the crowd at the RNC versus the DNC, the crowd looks like America, the diversity of America, and at (the) RNC, it was a whole lot of white men,” she said.
“One of the other major differences in the convention was the message; that message at the RNC was so grim and bleak, the ‘us versus them’ mentality. That’s not what’s been going on at the DNC, we are a big tent party, we want everyone to come be a part.”
Rep. Phil Ensler, D-Montgomery, another delegate, also threw their full support behind Harris at the top of the ticket, and likened a Harris victory to a continuation of the Biden administration.
As a State Representative from Montgomery, AL I am honored to be an Alabama delegate to the @DemConvention to support @KamalaHarris @KamalaHQ !#DNCC pic.twitter.com/yRojXyLi6t
— Phillip Ensler (@EnslerPhillip) August 19, 2024
“The energy here in Chicago is positive, loving and hopeful – Democrats are fired up and ready to work tirelessly to hold onto the White House,” Ensler told ADN Tuesday.
“The Biden-Harris administration has a robust track record of delivering for Alabama, and a Harris-Walz administration will continue that commitment to a safer, freer and more prosperous communities for all.”
On the first night of the convention Monday, Biden, after being given a four-minute standing ovation, gave a speech in which he reiterated his support of Harris in leading the ticket. Biden also took several jabs at Trump, and touted achievements of his administration, including the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Bill.
“He leaves quite a legacy from the standpoint of someone who is not selfish and did something that you probably wouldn’t find many other folks do; step back and let somebody else carry the ball,” Travis said of Biden.
Coleman also praised Biden’s performance Monday, describing it as “something special.”
“I’m a big supporter of President Biden, and I told folks I didn’t care if he was on life support, I was going to support him 100% to save democracy, but (Monday) night, the energy he brought and the passing of the torch was something special,” she said.
Former President Barack Obama followed up Biden’s speech Tuesday night, and Shomari Figures, the Democratic candidate for Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District, will speak Thursday ahead of Harris on the final night of the convention.
One component of the convention not scheduled, however, were the thousands of protesters just outside the DNC calling for an end to the violence in Gaza.
“I know that there are some protesters up here, which is the beauty of America, that you do have the right to protest,” Travis said.
While the protests have already led to more than a dozen arrests and a temporary breach of security fencing, they’ve remained mostly peaceful.
Coleman, while casting doubt on the effectiveness of protesters delaying buses transporting delegates to the convention hall, argued that the efforts have been largely successful, citing Biden’s brief acknowledgement of the protesters during his speech on Monday.
“Their objective is to keep the highlight on what’s going on in Gaza, the loss of life in Gaza,” Coleman said.
“I think what they did accomplish is to highlight the issue. President Biden (Monday) night specifically talked about how we’ve got to stop the war in Gaza, and I think because of the protest movement.”