Harris Accepts Historic Nomination, Launching Sprint To Election

(Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday, in a historic step that kicks off a three-month dash to Election Day.

Her challenge now is to harness the energy and excitement of a party reinvigorated by her rapid ascent. It amounts to an existential test for Harris, who remains undefined in the minds of many voters and has less than three months to build — and hold — a winning electoral coalition.

“On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written on the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America,” Harris said.

“I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power,” she said.

Despite emerging from the ashes of President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance and unpopular post-pandemic economic recovery, the 59-year-old former prosecutor’s ascent has so far thrilled the party faithful and disaffected moderates alike. 

But on Thursday night, she’ll need to convince voters she’s more than simply a younger, more capable alternative than her 81-year-old boss and the 78-year-old Donald Trump, whom Republicans have nominated for a third consecutive presidential contest.

Harris plans to tell voters that she would be a president who “leads — and listens” if elected.

“Who is realistic, practical, and has common sense,” she plans to say. “And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work.”

Aides and allies say Harris will also detail plans to prioritize economic opportunities to the middle class and protect reproductive and civil rights. And she’ll face intense scrutiny over her message and delivery.

Party Rebrand

Each night of the convention — peppered with musical performances and celebrity cameos, including Oprah Winfrey’s first-ever convention appearance — built toward Harris’ big moment, while also serving as a microcosm of the rapid transformation of the Democratic Party in the new nominee’s image. 

On Monday, a tearful Biden passed the torch. Tuesday, Barack and Michelle Obama hailed Harris as the inheritor of their groundbreaking political movement, thrilling the party faithful with a harsh indictment of Republican nominee Trump. Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, Democrats’ happy warrior, capped the penultimate day with a football and freedom-soaked address targeted at the Rust Belt voters that will likely decide the election.

Harris herself appeared Tuesday at a rally at the same Milwaukee arena where Republicans held their own convention. That rally was partially livestreamed back to Chicago — flexing the enthusiasm around her bid.

Thursday’s list of speakers is designed to demonstrate the broad coalition Harris will need to stitch together to prevail on Election Day. She was introduced by Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat who has cultivated a deep reservoir of support in his key battleground state and who heralded Harris as someone “who would never settle for less.”

“We got a lot of big fights ahead of us, and we’ve got one hell of a fighter ready to take them on,” he said.

Cooper’s placement in the evening emphasized the extent to which Harris has expanded Democrats’ path to electoral victory, rapidly regaining standing in Southern states. 

The lineup also included Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who painted Harris as a steady hand, needling Trump as out-of-touch and disdainful toward her home state.

“One day when you’re just trying to get everyone out the door, a news alert goes off — something’s happened, something’s hit the fan,” she said. “You’ll ask, ‘Is my family going to be ok?’ Then you’ll ask, ‘Who the hell is in charge?’”

Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator and progressive icon, teared up as the crowd gave her a standing ovation — and then painted Harris as willing to take on corporate interests.

“She’ll take on the Wall Street firms that buy up millions of houses and apartments and then jack up the rent. She’ll take on drug companies that charge an arm and leg for prescriptions,” Warren said. “She’ll take on corporate monopolies that rip off consumers and billionaires who don’t pay taxes.”

Al Sharpton introduced members of the Central Park Five, a group wrongfully convicted as teenagers of a 1989 assault and rape. Trump subsequently purchased a full page advertisement calling for the death penalty to be imposed before their conviction, which critics have denounced as racist.

“Our youth was stolen from us every day as we walked into the courtroom — people scream at us, threaten us because of Donald Trump,” Korey Wise, one of the exonerated men, said.

Speeches and Music

Senator Mark Kelly — from battleground Arizona — and his wife, Gabby Giffords — provided emotional heft to the gathering, with the former congresswoman detailing her attempted assassination in a call for gun safety measures. Kelly, a finalist for the vice presidential job, touted Harris as a steady foreign policy hand.

“The threats we face are too serious, the sacrifices our service members make are too sacred, the alliances we’ve spent decades building are too critical,” he said.

Musical performances by The Chicks and Pink earned cheers, particularly from the Gen X and elder Millennial women at the heart of Harris’ base. But speculation had swirled around Chicago that a top-tier endorsement might be unveiled — leaving some in the crowd at least temporarily disappointed.

Democrats will balance that push against a broader effort at the convention to seize back the mantle of “freedom” in a bid to regain voters from Republicans, who for years claimed a monopoly on such messaging. 

The Democratic version of “freedom” centered predominantly around reproductive rights but also touched on voting rights, the environment and economic mobility. Delegates waving signs with “USA” in red lettering and draped in Americana said Harris’ nomination had injected fresh patriotism into the party.

“I would describe it as pure energy, full of history, that the history is in the making, and we’re all part of it,” said Jackie Nophlin, a Virginia delegate decked out in American flag-themed glasses. “Look at the change that is needed, the youthfulness that Kamala is bringing to it.”

Deep Bench

Kelly also embodies a concerted push by convention organizers to highlight a deepening Democratic bench. 

The week’s proceedings gave prominent speaking slots to a slew of elected officials thought to have presidential ambitions of their own — including Governors Wes Moore of Maryland, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro — underscoring the uncertainty over the party’s future despite Harris quickly seizing this year’s nomination. Many of the rising stars spent their mornings stopping at delegation breakfasts to schmooze with party insiders and donors and their evenings hosting parties.

But their attendance also underscored an at-least temporary unity. Ideological rivals like New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear both appeared at the Democratic proceedings.

Still, divisions were apparent in Chicago. Outside the United Center, protesters staged multiple demonstrations over Israel’s war in Gaza. Inside the perimeter, some delegates bristled at the decision not to include a Palestinian American as part of the programming. 

The parents of a hostage seized by Hamas addressed the convention, but otherwise the ongoing conflict in the Middle East received sparse mention throughout the proceedings. 

(Updates throughout with additional remarks)

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