CHICAGO — Four weeks ago, the Republicans held their national convention in Milwaukee. They enshrined former President Donald Trump as their nominee. This week, the Democrats are doing the same in Chicago. While the gavel pounds the dais, the Democratic Party will enshrine Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee. Here are reasons why a party’s convention is so important.
First, the convention deals with the usual orders of business: approving credentials, approving the party’s platform, and approving the rules. Before the Democratic Convention, the Republicans took jabs at Vice President Harris for not having a substantive policy platform. However, Harris will outline her agenda in detail Thursday night.
Moreover, the party’s convention also showcases key individuals in each party. For example, Barack Obama delivered a speech during the 2004 Democratic Convention. While he was running for the United States Senate, Obama famously highlighted the significance of his name in that moment:
“They would give me an African name, Barack, or “blessed,” believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success,” said Obama. “They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential. They are both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with pride.”
Usually, a party’s convention is a coronation after a series of caucuses and primary elections in each state. For example, Georgia held their presidential primary on March 12th. On that day, former President Trump won the Republican Primary with 84% of the vote. President Joe Biden won the Democratic Primary while carrying 93% of the vote. Here is how a party disburses their delegates.
Who are delegates?
Delegates are individuals that secure the right to represent their state or district and choose their party’s presidential candidate at the convention. Often times, these people are officials at the local and state levels.
There are two types of delegates:
- Bound delegates must support the candidate they were awarded through the primary or caucus process.
- Unpledged/Uncommitted delegates or superdelegates can support any presidential candidate they choose.
In the cases of certain unpledged or uncommitted delegates here in Chicago, they are withholding their support for Vice President Harris due to the Biden Administration’s stance on the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
Specifically for Democrats, the superdelegates are not only members of the national committee, but all members of Congress and governors, former presidents and vice presidents, former leaders of the Senate and the House, and former chairs of the Democratic National Committee. Meanwhile, the Republicans award delegates to winners of state caucuses or primaries in a winner-take-all fashion.
1968 was a watershed moment
The 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami featured one of the famed contested conventions in modern history. Richard Nixon was defeated for President in 1960 by John F. Kennedy and for Governor of California in 1962. In 1968, Nixon was facing challenges by Ronald Reagan, the first-term governor of California and Nelson Rockefeller, the three-term governor of New York. However, Nixon’s southern strategy of courting disgruntled Democrats after the signing of the Civil Rights Act, while promoting law and order, eventually saw Nixon win the vote after a contested convention.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Convention in Chicago would be known for protests and violence. First, President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced he would not run for reelection on March 31, 1968. On April 4th of that year, The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. The presumptive nominee, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles on June 5th of that year.
During the convention, third party candidate George Wallace wanted to destroy Nixon’s southern strategy by forcing Hubert H. Humphrey to name him as his running mate. However, Humphrey was a fierce supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. Outside the convention hall, anti-war protesters clashed with police. 668 people were arrested.
After the dust settled, Humphrey won the Democratic Nomination.
In the end, a political party’s convention serves as the way to introduce a torch bearer to the larger American populus.