Kamala Harris surprises on the first evening of the DNC: “We are making progress”
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris delivered a surprise speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.
In late July, state Rep. Cherrish Pryor sat in the audience at the Indiana Convention Center as Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the Zeta Phi Beta fraternity’s national conference in Indianapolis. It was just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee for the nation’s highest office.
Pryor, who has represented Indianapolis in the statehouse since 2008, is now in Chicago to attend the Democratic National Convention. He is one of 88 delegates from the Hoosier State to officially nominate Harris as the party’s nominee. In November, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will face former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, the U.S. senator from Ohio.
“I don’t know if I could be happier,” Pryor, who is attending a conference in person for the fourth time, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
For Pryor and other Black women from Indiana at the DNC this week, there is a special excitement because it is the first time they have nominated a Black woman as their presidential candidate. The speeches at the convention and the energy in the party have further confirmed that Harris is the right person for this historic moment, Black women in Indiana’s delegation told Chicago’s IndyStar.
“It’s just impressive,” Pryor said. “Hopefully this sends a message to my nieces and other young girls that we have the ability to do anything we want to do and to reach the highest offices.”
Enthusiasm for Harris, respect for Biden
Harris already made history with her election in 2020: she was the first Black and Asian American vice president. But the rapid sequence of events following the Biden-Trump debate in June that led to Harris officially becoming the party’s presidential nominee has sparked optimism among Democrats inside and outside Indiana.
Nicole Yates of New Albany said excitement about the upcoming presidential campaign is higher than at any time since she worked as a planner in Indiana for former President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008, the last time the Hoosier State won a presidential election for the Democrats.
Yates, who is serving on a DNC committee in Chicago this week, said Obama’s campaign was built on hope, while Joe Biden “brought democracy back” when he was elected in 2020 after Trump’s first term. Harris has the chance to bring more “joy” to the White House, Yates said.
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“Let me tell you about Joe Biden, who saved us four years ago and has done remarkable work for this country, and we love him,” Yates said. “We will also see the first black woman become president.”
Indiana state Rep. Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond), who is a delegate this week, said she was energized by some prime-time speeches from people who know Harris and her character. Jackson said she was particularly moved by Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who said in a speech Monday night that Harris had comforted her and offered advice on the challenges Crockett faced after taking office in Congress. That’s the kind of person that should be president, Jackson said.
“We need people in office who are compassionate and who are trying to do what needs to be done,” Jackson said. “I really believe that to hold office, you have to be a servant. You have to know what it’s like to serve others and help others, and I just believe she’s the right person for that, for that office as president.”
While the DNC is a celebratory occasion, Pryor said Hoosier Democrats still have a lot of work to do when they return to Indiana, including motivating and engaging voters for the presidential race and other lower-ballot races.
“The real work is still ahead of us,” Pryor said. “It won’t be over until the day after the election.”
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
