It isn’t the convention that Democrats had been planning for — but it will commence Monday with a sense of enthusiasm that for months had eluded the party.
About five weeks after President Biden announced he would not seek reelection, the Democratic Party will convene for four days in Chicago to anoint Vice President Kamala Harris as its standard-bearer and presidential nominee. It will do so as Harris surges in polls that show her outpacing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in some battleground states.
The Democratic National Convention can be watched on most major television networks, including FoxNews, and several streaming platforms, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
It also will be available on websites for the Democratic Party and C-SPAN, among other options, such as YouTube. The timing of the programming will vary from outlet to outlet, but generally most will air from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time.
Biden will address the convention on Monday evening, though the timing of his appearance has not yet been announced.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has long known Harris, will speak Monday about 4:20 p.m. (Earlier Monday, organizers said Bass was expected to speak at 3:45 p.m.)
Also scheduled to speak sometime Monday is Rep. Robert Garcia of Long Beach. He also has had a longtime relationship with Harris, who swore him in when he was elected mayor of Long Beach in 2014.
Harris, 59, who officially won the nomination in an online vote earlier this month, will use the event at the United Center to reintroduce herself to the public and make her case for the presidency. The gathering, which will also include the adoption of the party platform, is expected to draw protesters angry over the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
Former presidents Obama and Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are scheduled to speak during the first few days of the convention.
But delegates, who number in the thousands, will have to wait until Thursday to hear Harris formally accept the party’s nomination and deliver remarks. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who will accept the party’s vice presidential nomination, will speak Wednesday.