Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and former President Bill Clinton are headlining the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, the third day of the party's choreographed rollout of a new candidate, Kamala Harris, and her pitch to voters.
In a delicate balancing act, Harris and the parade of Democrats speaking on her behalf all week are looking to harness the exuberance that has swept over their party since President Joe Biden stepped aside while making clear to their supporters that the election will be a fierce fight.
“So much is on the line in this election,” Harris said Tuesday in Milwaukee, where she spoke at a professional basketball arena in battleground Wisconsin as the convention continued 90 miles away in Chicago. “And understand, this not 2016 or 2020. The stakes are higher.”
In Chicago hours later, former President Barack Obama offered his own caution: "Make no mistake, it will be a fight,” Obama said. For all the energy and memes and rallies that have defined the campaign since Harris became the nominee, Obama said, “this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country.”
Harris is working to stitch together a broad coalition in her bid to defeat Republican former President Donald Trump this fall. She is drawing on stars like Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, and other celebrities, officials from the far left to the middle, and even some Republicans to boost her campaign.
And while the theme of Tuesday was “a bold vision for America’s future,” the disparate factions of Harris’ evolving coalition demonstrated, above all, that they are connected by a deep desire to prevent a second Trump presidency.
