I have been attending Democratic National Conventions since 2000, when Al Gore was nominated in his failed bid to succeed President Bill Clinton. I’ve missed only one, in Charlotte in 2012, when President Barack Obama was renominated.
This year is different. At every other convention, I had been a young party activist (a member of the Young Democrats or as a staffer to another elected official.) For 2024, my name was on the ballot and I was elected as a delegate to the convention to support President Biden – which means I get credentials and will be casting my vote for the Democratic nominee.
I’ve been a Joe Biden supporter for a long time, and I I believe he will leave a legacy of one of the most consequential presidents in our history. From creating millions of jobs through historic infrastructure funding, and investments in climate change, his programs will help millions. I personally appreciate the student loan relief he has championed – it helped me and my family.
With that said, the energy and enthusiasm Vice President Kamala Harris has bought to this election has been amazing.
I joined dozens of Maryland convention delegates who made the trip to Chicago on Sunday, and others will arrive on Monday, when the convention actually begins. My flight from BWI to O’Hare was packed with convention-goers, and at the next gate, the flight to Midway had many more.
When we landed in Chicago, we were greeted by DNC volunteers stationed every few feet in the airport, directing us where to go and making sure we didn’t get detoured.
The Maryland delegation is staying at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Hotel – a prized location. At national conventions, the most important and prized delegations get the best hotel spots. We are sharing ours with Wisconsin – one of the critical blue wall states that will decide the next election, as well as New York.
Convention days are long. We start with a delegation breakfast at the hotel with speakers, beginning at 7:30 p.m. There are other events and caucus meetings throughout the day, and I plan to arrive at the United Center for the evening speeches at around 5 p.m.
Monday’s opening breakfast for the Maryland delegation was hosted by LIUNA, the Laborer’s International Union of North America. Ryan Boyer of the Metropolitan Area of Phildelphia/Baltimore/Washington/Laborer’s District Council stressed to us the importance of securing federal funding for the replacement of the Key Bridge, and the benefits of using union labor on the project.
Gov. Wes Moore got up to speak, and got the delegation cheering and screaming. We were so loud that we attracted the attention of the New York delegation, which was holding its breakfast in an adjacent ballroom.
So Sen. Chuck Schumer, unannounced, came into the room and grabbed the microphone. At first I thought it was a protestor, before he began speaking. He told the Maryland delegation that he wants Angela Alsobrooks as part of a (hopefully) majority caucus in the Senate next year.
When the breakfast wrapped up, some more drama unfolded.
Each day, convention goers need to get their credentials to get into the United Center, or to get into other events. The line to get credentials wrapped around the hotel, and some folks were confused – not everyone who wants to go the main events gets the credentials they need to get in. Maryland will be setting up a lottery to distribute our available credentials.
I’ll be planning to go to a Black Caucus meeting on Monday, then am excited to hear President Biden deliver what is in some sense a farewell address from the convention podium tonight.
I’ll also be careful about who I am interacting with. I’ve seen reports that folks like conservative provocateur James O’Keefe are looking to secretly record convention-goers and use our comments to drive their political agenda. The excitement in Chicago is only beginning.
State Sen. Antonio Hayes will be authoring a convention diary as the DNC meets in Chicago this week.
