AUGUST 11, 2020
Former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are in the lineup for next week’s nominating convention, the Democratic National Convention Committee announced Tuesday. – Scott Olson/Getty Images
The Democratic National Convention Committee announced a lineup on Tuesday for next week’s nominating convention that will feature at least seven of the women under consideration to be Joe Biden’s running mate.
Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) are all scheduled to deliver remarks at the virtual convention, as are Govs. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Former national security adviser Susan Rice and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) — both thought to be potential running mates to Joe Biden — and Mike Bloomberg were not on the list publicly released on Tuesday. But convention organizers said other speakers will be unveiled later, and a spot has been aside for Biden’s to-be-announced vice presidential pick.
Other speakers announced on Tuesday include Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.). Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg will also speak, as will Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and Govs. Tony Evers (D-Wis.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.).
Tuesday’s announcement further fills out a lineup set to feature multiple past presidents and an aisle-crossing appearance by a Republican former governor. Along with Warren, Harris, Duckworth, Grisham and Whitmer, POLITICO reported Friday that Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) are also in the lineup. Those speakers were confirmed Tuesday by the DNC.
Michelle Obama, Sanders, Cuomo, Kasich and Whitmer are among the top names set to speak on the convention’s opening night next Monday. Tuesday’s lineup will feature Jill Biden, Bill Clinton, Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Wednesday is likely to be headlined by Biden’s vice presidential pick, along with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Biden himself will deliver the keynote address on the convention’s final night, when Harris, Booker, Bottoms, Baldwin and Duckworth are also scheduled to speak.
Because only two hours of programming will air each night from Aug. 17 to 20, a speaking role at the convention is even more coveted than usual. Typically, there are hours of daytime programming where lower-level politicians can talk.
With Sanders, Warren and Ocasio-Cortez getting slots, Biden’s nominating convention lineup underscores that the former vice president’s effort at presenting a united front with the Democratic Party’s left wing.
The inclusion of Kasich, who told CNN Monday that he is backing Biden because “we need a new direction,” represents an attempt to reach out to right-leaning independents and Republicans opposed to President Donald Trump.
Additional speakers announced Tuesday include Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), as well as former acting Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Secretary of State John Kerry. Yesterday, Democrats said a group of everyday Americans, including a former Trump supporter and paramedic, will also talk.
The Democrats’ convention had originally been scheduled to take place last month in Milwaukee but was postponed and later made virtual because of concerns related to the coronavirus. Last week, event organizers said that Biden will accept his nomination in Delaware instead of Milwaukee as originally planned.
Courtesy/Source: Politico
