Election 2024: 5 key takeaways from the DNC

CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention wrapped up with a massive balloon drop and a call for unity in the party, just weeks after the makeup of its presidential ticket turned on its head.

Democrats rallied behind their new candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and they pushed for activists to work hard in getting out the vote with less than 75 days to go until the election.

The national stage saw notable speeches from major leaders including former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Entertainers like John Legend, Pink, Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling also graced the stage.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the four-day event.

1. Biden passes the torch, ushering in a new generation.

President Joe Biden gave an emotional quasi-farewell address the first night of the convention, his speech serving as a passing of the torch to a new generation of leaders.

A desire for a new generation has been felt for months, with Nevada voters expressing ambivalence in January toward a repeat election between Biden and Trump.

After Biden announced he was dropping from the race — following months of poor polling and a disastrous debate performance — the energy in the party surged, with many Democratic voters showing enthusiasm for the first time in years.

This week’s convention in Chicago’s United Center showed a steady stream of old and new leaders, and a younger energy was felt through a DJ-style roll call and performances from entertainers including Lil Jon and Maren Morris.

First-time Nevada delegate Tanner Hale said he cried watching the president’s address.

“When he said the line, ‘I made mistakes,’ but that ‘I gave you everything I had,’ I bawled my eyes out,” Hale said. “People on both sides of me put their arms on my shoulders. It was just such a humble moment for the president to say, and it was really special.”

“I thought he gave a very dynamic and strong speech the other night, and what a way to go out by saying to America, ‘I gave you my best.’ I think that sums up his career,” said Rep. Dina Titus.

Democrats repeatedly said Biden would go down as “the most influential” president in history.

Former President Bill Clinton admired Biden’s courage to do something hard for politicians to do: “He voluntarily gave up political power,” comparing him to George Washington.

“It will enhance Joe Biden’s legacy,” Clinton said.

Multiple speakers throughout the convention echoed those words, calling Biden courageous and patriotic for stepping down. A general theme of making way for a new generation was reiterated throughout the week.

“I can honestly say, and I mean this from the bottom — I’ll give you my word as a Biden — I can honestly say I’m more optimistic about the future than I was when I was elected as a 29-year-old United States Senator. I mean it,” Biden said.

He added that Harris and Walz will “continue to lead America forward.”

2. Democrats bring out Republicans and independents to back them up.

Independent voters, Republicans and former Trump supporters explained this week why they’re voting for Harris and Walz in November — an effort from the Democratic Party to appeal to the country’s undecided and nonpartisan voters.

Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kizinger called on Republicans who support democracy to back Harris, and Oprah Winfrey, an independent voter, called on other independent and undecided voters to pick Harris and Walz.

“Common sense tells you that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give you decency and respect,” Winfrey said.

In Nevada, where nonpartisans make up the largest voting bloc, both presidential campaigns have targeted the more middle-of-the-road voter.

Nevadan Greg Brower, a former Republican state senator and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, told the Review-Journal the same reasons he became a Republican 40 years ago are the same reasons he’s voting for Harris and Walz and is now a registered independent.

There was a lack of respect for the rule of law under Trump, he said, and the Biden-Harris administration improved the economy after the pandemic.

He likes the Harris-Walz campaign’s positive outlook so far, how it’s a “look forward to making our country better, not a look back.” He said their campaign is bringing back a sense of decency and honor and will make the country look good both at home and on the world stage. Those were all qualities he liked in the Republican Party during the second Reagan administration.

“You’re not going to agree with everything that the White House might be advocating for or your party might be advocating for, but to me that’s not the important thing,” Brower said. “For me, it’s country over party, and patriotism over politics, and so that’s where I’m coming from.”

Daniel Stewart, an election attorney in Las Vegas who served both former Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval and former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, plans to vote split-ticket in November, including a vote for Harris and Walz.

Stewart said he also likes the forward-looking message the campaign has promoted. As a father of three who dropped off his oldest at college, he realized he has to look at the years to come, rather than try to “reclaim something from the past.”

“This election, to me, is about far bigger things than just normal policy disagreements, and I’m looking forward to the moment when we can get back to that,” Stewart said. “I don’t agree with everything, but they’re not asking me to either. They haven’t asked me to abandon anything that I believe in.”

3. ‘We’re not going back’: The party looks forward.

From delegate breakfasts to the big stage at the United Center, speakers repeatedly echoed Harris’ campaign slogan, “We’re not going back,” a foil to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”

While Republicans seem focused on what they see as the glory days and returning the country to past policies put in place by leaders like former President Ronald Reagan, Harris and her campaign have focused on looking toward the future, a theme heavily present throughout the week.

Democrats repeatedly criticized Project 2025, a conservative set of policy proposals that Trump has tried to distance himself from, with many speakers throughout the week referring to it as regressive.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey jokingly referred to it as “Project 1825.”

“It’s sum total is to pull our country back to the past,” Harris said Thursday night. “But America, we are not going back.”

4. The big tent becomes a giant neighborhood.

Democrats presented a possible strategy toward breaking down partisan divides, viewing America as just one big neighborhood.

Walz especially leaned into that theme, talking about how he represented his neighbors in Congress for 12 years, then coming back to Minnesota to serve as governor to “work making a difference in our neighbors’ lives.”

Harris also talked about her neighbors who helped raise her while her mother was working.

“None of them family by blood, and all of them family by love,” she said.

Nevada Delegate Jay Maharjan thinks this strategy will be successful.

“The America I know is always that small town, you know, ‘leaving your door open.’ There’s this community feel you get,” Maharjan said.

5. Pro-Palestine protests were present, but did not cause a huge disruption.

While inside the center convention goers rallied in unity, outside swaths of protesters expressed their opposition. A large crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in the streets of Chicago at the beginning of the week, urging the U.S. to end its funding of the Israel-Hamas war.

At one point protesters breached a barricade outside of the center, resulting in 13 protesters arrested. The protests remained relatively peaceful, however.

The war in Gaza represents one of the most divisive issues within the party, but within the center, Harris was able to avoid any major disruptions to her official anointment as the Democratic Party’s leader.

On Thursday night, Harris provided the clearest view of her stance on the war to date. She said she supports Israel’s right to defend itself and will make sure it has that ability to defend itself. She also said, however, that the scale of suffering in Gaza is heartbreaking.

Harris said she and Biden are working to end the war so “Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination.”

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.