Harris Seeks to Continue Campaign Momentum Following DNC, CNN Interview

The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago concluded with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party's presidential nomination, capping a drama-filled effort to replace Biden of the ticket following his June debate performance. The four-day event featured speeches from prominent Democrats and supporters, aiming to energize the party base and appeal to undecided voters.

Notable speakers included Oprah Winfrey, former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and former First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. Each emphasized their party's vision for the country while critiquing Trump and Republican policies.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris's running mate, addressed the convention on the third day, highlighting his background as a teacher and governor.

In her acceptance speech on the last day, Harris sought to introduce herself to the American people by highlighting her personal background and career experiences. While she provided a broad overview of policy goals, such as strengthening the middle class, combatting climate change, and ending the war in Gaza, she largely avoided detailed policy changes in her speech.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling aggregates, the race between Harris and Trump remains competitive. National polls show a tight contest, with Harris holding a slight edge. In battleground states, the margins are narrow. Pennsylvania, a considered a must-win state by both campaigns, shows Harris leading by just 0.5 points. Trump continues to lead narrowly in Georgia and North Carolina.

Harris did sit down for a joint interview with CNN that included Walz this past week, the first she has given since Biden’s withdrawal. In the interview, she said that her values have not changed since her 2019 campaign, but that she did change her position on banning fracking (from for to against such a ban during the 2020 campaign). She also said she had no regrets for her comments supporting Biden’s fitness to run for reelection following Biden’s widely panned debate performance.

Both campaigns are expected to focus heavily on battleground states in the coming months ahead of the September 10th debate with ABC News.

Democratic, Republican National Conventions Conclude

Convention season is over as the Republicans wrapped up theirs last Thursday, culminating with a vivid firework show that lighted up the nation’s capital. Theatrics and pageantry aside, they provided the last opportunity for both parties to make their case before the debates.

The Democratic convention was a mix of live and pre-recorded speeches and video productions, and none of the speeches were done in front of a large audience. All speeches given, including the acceptance speeches by presidential nominee Joe Biden and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris were relatively short given that they were not broken up by applause lines and other pauses used when delivering in front of an audience.

The Democrats focused on highlighting Joe Biden’s as someone of good moral character and empathy, contrasting that with their views on incumbent Donald Trump, who they argue shows little empathy and has been a failure in moral leadership as well as policy, especially in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, they focused relatively little on policy specifics, offering broad support for progressive ideas on gun control, the environment, racial justice, and economic reforms.

The Republicans followed the broad outline of the Democratic convention, though nearly all speeches were delivered live in one location in Washington, DC. In addition, Trump and Mike Pence gave their acceptance speeches in front of audiences at the White House and at Fort McHenry in Baltimore respectively. The Republican Convention offered more specific policy proposals throughout their speeches, though media factcheckers criticized some of the claims made by speakers, including Trump, on the administration’s record.