Convention speakers
On August 19, the Democratic National Convention got underway in Chicago. What just a month before was looking to be a somber wake for the party's prospects in the November election erupted instead into the party of the year. The first night saw President Biden giving a well-rehearsed speech, passing the torch to his VP and highlighting the success of his administration. Other speakers drew cheers and "Thank you, Joe" chants with praise for Biden's "selfless" decision to bow out of the race, laced with critical words for GOP nominee Donald Trump, taking particular aim at his dishonesty on the campaign trail, policy positions, and character flaws.

The convention continued on Tuesday night with even higher emotions. Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, who will be the first First Gentleman if Harris is elected in November, used humor to tell the story of his courtship with Harris and painted the VP (also a former prosecutor, state attorney general, and US senator) as a doting stepmother to his children, who affectionately refer to her as "Momala." (Harris has been criticized by Republicans for not having biological children of her own.)

Emhoff was followed on stage by Democratic darling Michelle Obama, the former First Lady. Many viewers noted that her 2024 speech was strikingly different from her 2016 "when they go low, we go high" remarks. She did not tiptoe around Trump's character, and she even explicitly called out the former president for his racism. "For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us," she said. "His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black."
She later recalled a moment from Trump's blundering appearance at the National Black Journalists Association - the same event in which he claimed Kamala Harris "became Black" - when he claimed that immigrants were "taking Black jobs."
"Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those 'Black jobs'?" the former First Lady said as the room erupted in laughter and cheers.
Taking the stage after his wife, former President Barack Obama leaned into his classic charm and humor, getting jabs in at Trump while also reminding voters of the dangers a second Trump term could hold. "We don't need four more years of bluster and chaos," he said. "We've seen that movie. And we all know that the sequel is usually worse."

The candidates speak
Night three of the DNC brought the party. Harris's VP pick, Gov. Walz, gave a zesty speech highlighting his Midwestern values, knocking the GOP candidates for their "weird" behavior, and providing a broad roadmap of Democratic policies, including cutting taxes for the middle class.
During his speech, cameras cut often to Walz's wife and two children, standing and clapping with tears in their eyes. Clips of his son, Gus, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, wiping tears from his eyes and saying "that's my dad" quickly went viral across the internet. However, the videos also earned some disdain from Republicans, who were quick to make snide remarks at the expense of the 17-year-old.
While Walz's speech was certainly one of the most memorable of the convention, other big names roused conventioneers and viewers at home, including Hillary and Bill Clinton; Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hakeem Jeffries, and Nancy Pelosi; Sens. Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Rafael Warnock, and Tammy Duckworth; Govs. Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear, Gretchen Whitmer, and Wes Moore; and First Lady Jill Biden. Nonpoliticians who spoke or performed included poet Amanda Gorman, Jason Isbell, John Legend, and Stevie Wonder, not to mention surprise speaker Oprah Winfrey.
Repeating much of the event's overarching theme of hope, they exuded warmth and happiness when referring to Harris, officially accepted the party's nomination on Thursday evening with a much-anticipated speech introducing herself to much of the nation.

The convention also included a ceremonial roll call of the states (the offical roll call was conducted earlier in the month), MC'ed by DJ Cassidy. With each state was called, he spun a song embodying its spirit. Representatives took the mic to highlight some of their state's proudest accomplishments and reasons for supporting behind Harris.
With "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis playing in the background, Shasti Conrad, the first South Asian woman to lead a state party, pledged Washington's delegates.
"From the amber waves of grain and to the burning orange orchards of Eastern Washington to the iconic waters of the Salish Sea, Washington stands proud as part of the blue wall," she said, surrounded by delegates from Washington state, including US Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

Washington also sent several uncommitted delegates to the convention. Thirty-six uncommitted delegates were sent to the DNC in total, all of whom are protesting US aid to Israel. Washington's wore "No More Bombs" pins and writing on their hands but did not participate in any of the protests outside the convention.
Though there are just two months left until the general election on November 5, there is still plenty of time for big surprises and unexpected twists. While the word "unprecedented" seems to ring hollow now, this election truly has been one for the books (let's just hope they don't get banned).

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