Arkansas Democrats will spend this week in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which will be Vice President Kamala Harris’ first opportunity to present herself to voters.
Earlier this summer, Harris became the Democrat’s presidential nominee, when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. In an interview with Arkies in the Beltway, Grant Tenille, chair of the Arkansas Democrats, said Arkansas Democrats supported the changing of nominees.
“In our meetings, as we talked through all this stuff, there was tremendous admiration expressed for President Biden, but there was also an absolute locked in ironclad belief that we needed to make a change,” Tenille said.
According to the Arkansas Advocate, Arkansas delegates to the DNC unanimously endorsed Harris.
In an interview with Arkies in the Beltway, Jannie Cotton, vice chair of the Arkansas Democrats, explained that despite entering the race recently, voters have some familiarity with Harris.
“You're not just at the top of that ticket by yourself. You have a partner, and so Harris was already on the ticket and doing great things with President Biden, and so now she gets an opportunity to have her own dynamic that she brings to the table,” Cotton said.
According to a press release by the Arkansas Democrats, the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus, hosted a virtual fundraiser for Harris.
What happens at the DNC
At the convention, 4,000 delegates will meet to approve the party’s platform and recognize Harris as the nominee, according to CBS News.
On their website, the DNC included a list of issues its platform will focus on:
- growing the economy
- lowering costs for families
- tackling the climate crisis and securing energy independence
- closing the racial wealth gap and investing in small businesses
- restoring Roe v. Wade as the law of the land
- protecting communities from the scourge of gun violence and protecting freedoms for all Americans
- securing our border and strengthening American leadership worldwide
These issues were listed on the DNC’s platform when Biden was still the nominee.
During the DNC, former President and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton will be one of the speakers. Former Democratic Presidential Nominee and former Arkansas First Lady Hilary Clinton will also be speaking.
According to the Facebook page of the Arkansas Democratic Party, former U.S Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat who represented Arkansas from 2003 to 2015, will be one of the representatives for the Arkansas Democrats at the DNC.
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