SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Democratic National Convention kicks off on Monday and nearly 500 California delegates are heading to Chicago.
ABC10 spoke with some of them ahead of their trek to the Midwest.
America has heard from Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at rallies in recent days, but at the four-day DNC in Chicago, starting Monday, the presidential and vice presidential candidates will articulate their message in prime time.
“They're virtually unknown to voters and this is an opportunity to see them shine and speak,” said Steve Maviglio, a Sacramento-based Democratic strategist and alternate delegate for the California Democratic Party. This will be his third DNC.
Asked what he’d like to hear from the candidates, Maviglio said, “It's who's going to be better for you and your family. And I think the policies that we're seeing come out of Vice President Harris right now, whether it's tackling the price of prescription drugs, the inflation, economic issues — undoubtedly are top-of-mind for everyone and particularly independent voters.”
Voters will cast ballots in the fall, but each party’s delegates to their respective national convention are the ones who formally pick the presidential and vice presidential nominees, as well as vote on the party’s national platform. In California, Democratic delegates were elected by fellow Democrats in caucuses back in April.
A virtual roll call has already guaranteed Harris and Walz have the votes they need to become the party’s official nominees, so delegates from all over the country will cast a celebratory vote in person.
Former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance were instated as the Republican Party’s official presidential and vice presidential nominees during the Republican National Convention in July.
Tomas Vera – a first-time DNC delegate - lives in Placer County and has been active with the Democratic Party in California for the better part of two decades.
“It's going to be exciting because, well, it's a historic convention. It's a historic election cycle,” Vera said.
Delegates will be busy during the days, ahead of evening speeches.
“I'm a member, for example, going to take part in the Veterans Caucus - or the Council, they call them. There's a Hispanic Council, there's a Rural Council,” Vera said. “It's a great way for the party, together, and delegates throughout the nation to get together and exchange ideas.”
Former Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn is a first-time delegate and said he looks forward to hearing President Joe Biden speak on Monday night.
“I think he's been a really good president and he did a very selfless thing in stepping down, so I expect we'll spend some time probably Monday honoring President Biden,” Cohn said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will address the DNC Wednesday, to formally accept the party’s vice presidential nomination. Then on Thursday night, Vice President Kamala Harris will take the stage to accept the party’s presidential nomination.
Sacramento-based Republican Political Consultant Tab Berg said there’s a lot of excitement around Harris’ campaign because she just recently entered the race, but he feels she lacks substance—and clear policy positions.
“Up until just a few weeks ago, she was telling us Biden was fine, that he was on point, that he was as sharp as he's ever been. And then all-of-a-sudden she's accepting this process where the official nominated Democrat candidate is being shoved out the back door,” Berg said. “What I would really caution voters on is not to get too caught up in the ephemera. I mean, they're going to try to make her out to be a rockstar, but really look at what her record is. What has she done is going to be more important than what she's saying today…I'm not sure how much executive experience you get as Vice President. To be honest, the purpose of the Vice President is to be in waiting just in case something happens to the president.”
Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo disagrees.
“She was a United States Senator for four years. She's been a Vice President for 3.5 years. You know, that's nearly eight years of talking national policy, being inside the White House, working with the President and all of the department heads and the different cabinet members, so it's not like she's just, you know, fell off the coconut tree or anything like that,” Trujillo said.
Even though polls show Harris with a slight lead in some key swing states, Berg said he believes that’s just a temporary bump for her – and that Trump will pull ahead once again, as he did when Biden was still the candidate.
“I think the polls are going to come back to where they were about six weeks ago or eight weeks ago,” Berg said. “There's a little flash when you're new. I mean, so right now she's coming in, but now people are starting to get a little frustrated with her failure to actually talk to the media and explain her position.”
Trujillo said the current excitement translates into dollars for the Harris-Walz campaign.
“Even if the polls do go back to what it was before she ran, she's going to have tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars to continue to get her message out,” Trujillo said.
West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero is a first-time delegate.
“I'm looking forward to an exciting week next week,” she said. “It's going to be very busy.”
After the DNC, Guerrero said, getting out the vote will be key for the November election.
“We have voters who just don't think their vote counts. So going out, for me, especially to the Latino voters - they're the ones that have a tendency not to vote,” said Guerrero, who is Latino. “Wherever I need to go to encourage them to vote.”
Delegates and strategists also point to the importance of the upcoming debates. Harris and Trump are set to square off Sept. 10 on ABC10. Vance and Walz have agreed to debate on Oct. 1. Then Harris and Trump are set for one final debate later in October, on a date yet to be announced.
