Full guide to the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Until recently, it looked like this summer’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago would be a fraught affair. Former President Donald Trump had just dodged an assassin’s bullet. President Biden — the party’s presumptive nominee — was plummeting in the polls after a much-criticized debate performance. And pro-Palestinian protesters were preparing to pull a 1968.
What a difference a few weeks makes. Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris took Biden’s place atop the ticket, the vibe has completely shifted. Harris now leads Trump nationally and in key swing states. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has gone viral. (He’s the guy behind the whole “weird” phenomenon.) And while activists still plan to protest, Harris seems to have lowered the temperature — and the chances for chaos.
For Democrats, Chicago has now become a real opportunity to reinforce their candidate’s momentum — and reintroduce her to the rest of America.
Here’s what you need to know about the convention:
🗓📍 The venue and dates
The DNC takes place Monday, Aug. 19, through Thursday, Aug. 22, at the United Center and the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. It is the first time since 1996 that the convention is being held in the Windy City.
📺 Watch on broadcast, cable or streamers
The DNC is streaming the convention on its YouTube channel. You can also watch on streamers like Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock and Max. Broadcast and cable TV networks will also be airing live coverage from Chicago.
Yahoo News is live-blogging primetime speeches and providing analysis and key takeaways afterward. Our extensive partner network is also providing breaking news and analysis. You can find those updates here. You can also click here to sign up for our breaking news emails and to subscribe to The Yodel — Yahoo News’ morning newsletter, which is providing convention highlights.
🗣️ Democratic leaders, celebrities slated to speak
Here is a list of the speakers, performers and themes for each night:
🗓 Monday, Aug. 19: 'For the People'
Minyon Moore, chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention Committee
Jaime R. Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan
Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood
California Rep. Robert Garcia
Joint Remarks: Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); April Verrett, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Brent Booker, General president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA); Kenneth Cooper, international president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); Claude Cummings Jr., president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA); Elizabeth Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Performance: Mickey Guyton
Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
California Sen. Laphonza Butler
Performance: Jason Isbell
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
Shawn Fain, president of the United Automobile Workers
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett
New York Rep. Grace Meng
Joint Remarks: Amanda and Josh Zurawski; Kaitlyn Joshua; Hadley Duvall
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons
First lady Jill Biden
Performance: James Taylor
Ashley Biden
President Biden
🗓 Tuesday, Aug. 20: 'A Bold Vision for America's Future'
Jason Carter, grandson of President Jimmy Carter
Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy
Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta
Kyle Sweetser, former Donald Trump voter
Stephanie Grisham, former Trump White House press secretary
Nabela Noor, content creator
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters
Kenneth Stribling, retired teamster
Ana Navarro, co-host of "The View"
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Kenneth Chenault, former CEO and chairman of American Express
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
Angela Alsobrooks, Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maryland
Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Ariz.
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth
Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff
Former first lady Michelle Obama
Former President Barack Obama
🗓 Wednesday, Aug. 21: 'A Fight for Our Freedoms'
Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All
Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign
Jessica Mackler, president of EMILY's List
María Teresa Kumar, founding president and CEO of Voto Latino
New York Rep. Tom Suozzi
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker
Joint Remarks: Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval; Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
Rashawn Spivey and Deanna Branch, lead pipe removal advocates
Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester
New York Rep. Grace Meng
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene
Minnesota A.G. Keith Ellison
Michigan A.G. Dana Nessel
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
Performance: Maren Morris
Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy
Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar
California Rep. Pete Aguilar
Carlos Eduardo Espina, content creator
Olivia Troye, former Trump administration national security official
Republican former Georgia Lt. Gov Geoff Duncan
Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, retired U.S. Capitol Police officer
New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim
Olivia Julianna, content creator
Performance: Stevie Wonder
Comedian Kenan Thompson
Actress and producer Mindy Kaling
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Former President Bill Clinton
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
Performance: Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate
TV legend Oprah Winfrey
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
Performance: John Legend
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Benjamin Ingman, former student of Tim Walz
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate
🗓 Thursday, Aug. 22: 'For Our Future'
Everett Kelly, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees
Imam Muhammad Abdul-Aleem
Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar
Joint Remarks: Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association; Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers
California Sen. Alex Padilla
Former HUD Secretary Honorable Marcia Fudge
California Rep. Ted Lieu
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin
Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark
Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse
Durham, N.C., Mayor Leonardo Williams
Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Colorado Rep. Jason Crow
Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin
New York Rep. Pat Ryan
The Rev. Al Sharpton
Joint Remarks from representatives of “the Central Park Five”: New York City Councilperson Yusef Salaam; Korey Wise; Raymond Santana; Kevin Richardson
Joint Remarks: Amy Resner, former prosecutor and friend of Kamala Harris; Karrie Delaney, director of federal affairs at the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network; former Illinois A.G. Lisa Madigan; Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League; Nathan Hornes, former student at Corinthian Colleges; Tristan Snell, former New York State assistant attorney general
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey
Courtney Baldwin, youth organizer and human trafficking survivor
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
John Russell, content creator
Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost
Texas Rep. Colin Allred
Joint Remarks: Anya Cook; Craig Sicknick; Gail DeVore; Juanny Romero; Eric, Christian and Carter Fitts
Performance: The Chicks
Actress Kerry Washington
Joint Remarks: Meena Harris; Ella Emhoff; Helena Hudlin
Actor and comedian D.L. Hughley
Genesee County, Mich., Sheriff Chris Swanson
Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath
Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
Performance: Pink
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Actress Eva Longoria
Former Illinois GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger
Maya Harris
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper
Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris
👮 Security is a big issue
Officials expected 50,000 people to descend on the nation’s third-largest city for the convention. Security is extremely tight — especially in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump.
Local, state and federal officials say they are prepared for the high-profile event, and they are even on alert for potential “retaliatory acts of violence” against Democrats following the attempted assassination. Convention security plans include restricted zones, road closures, protest areas and a surge of resources — including as many as 500 officers, mostly from Illinois, being brought in to assist Chicago police.
Click here and here for specific information about the security restrictions, including maps to help you navigate the area.
➡️ What to expect
Here’s one thing not to expect: the traditional state-by-state roll call where delegates vote to make the nomination official. Earlier this month, Democrats decided to hold a virtual vote in order to avoid potential ballot headaches in Ohio, and they certified their nominations shortly thereafter.
So Harris and Walz are no longer the party’s “presumptive” nominees. They’re already official.
The real drama in Chicago will stem from the speeches. Biden is the first president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 not to seek a second term — and the only president in U.S. history to surrender his party’s nomination after winning its primary. He is set to speak Monday. How will he handle what is likely to be a difficult moment for him?
The challenge for Biden — and to a degree, for the convention as a whole — will be figuring out how to look back (at the still-unpopular legacy he’s about to leave behind) while also looking ahead (to what’s new and different about his last-minute successor).
Former Presidents Clinton and Obama — as well as 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton — will address the delegates on subsequent nights, along with an array of celebrities, everyday Americans and other Democratic officials. Will they continue to attack Trump by making him look bigger — a looming “threat to democracy?” Or will they solidify Harris’s new strategy of making him look smaller — “old and quite weird.”
As for Harris herself, she’s been something of a blank slate so far: a screen onto which Democrats have projected their sudden relief and optimism. In her speech Thursday — and in the spectacle leading up to it — will Harris seek to preserve this generic, all-things-to-all-people appeal, or will she add new layers of specificity (around her prosecutorial past, perhaps, or her policy plans for 2025 and beyond)?
Finally, what happens after Chicago? Previous nominees have typically enjoyed a postconvention polling “bump,” but Harris’s surprise debut effectively blunted any momentum Trump might have enjoyed coming out of last month’s Republican National Convention.
So far, the former president has struggled to regain his footing and find a fruitful line of attack against Harris. Will the convention offer him new ammunition? Or will next week’s four-day pro-Harris infomercial further boost her standing as the fall campaign finally gets underway?
📌 What is the DNC’s 2024 platform?
Before Biden left the race, Democrats released a draft platform tailored to his second-term agenda. It touted Biden’s record (“creat[ing] nearly 16 million jobs,” taking “the most ambitious action in world history to fight climate change,” “securing our border in the face of Republican inaction” and “strengthening NATO”) while previewing new policies: raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, hiking taxes on those making more than $400,000 a year, lowering housing costs by building or renovating 2 million homes nationwide, adding funding for 100,000 additional police officers and increasing access to mental health care.
But the actual platform will be finalized at the convention — and with a new nominee, there are likely to be changes. Watch for Harris to try to differentiate herself from Biden — possibly on crime, abortion, immigration or the Gaza War.
💬 Your thoughts
➕ Read more
Harris, Walz officially certified as Democratic nominees for president, vice president.“The certification, conducted by convention Secretary Jason Rae, comes less than a day after Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination in a virtual roll call vote and just hours since she announced Walz would join her on the ticket.” [The Hill]
Kamala Harris has momentum. Will it last past the 'honeymoon' phase?“Harris has clearly shaken Democrats from the malaise that had hung over their party as they wrestled with questions over Biden’s candidacy. The question that may decide the 2024 election is whether Harris can sustain this momentum, or even build on it, after the ‘honeymoon’ phase is over.” [Yahoo News]
The Democratic National Convention is giving influencers media credentials for the first time. Why both campaigns are pivoting to social-first strategies. "The Democratic National Convention Committee announced it would be welcoming 200 influencers to Chicago for the week, granting them access to every space where the press is allowed and even coordinating interviews for them." [Yahoo News]
The Convention City: why Chicago has hosted more presidential conventions than any other city. “The legacy of Lincoln still echoes at the intersection of Wacker Drive and Lake Street, perhaps the most consequential corner in Chicago history.” [WGN Chicago]
DNC cleanup aims to improve Chicago beyond the convention, but also echo 1996 efforts.“The man leading the city of Chicago’s planning efforts for the Democratic National Convention likes to compare the preparation needed for next week’s political celebration to hosting a house party. And he now has a clear directive: It’s time to cut the grass.” [Chicago Tribune]
Potential ‘retaliatory’ attacks at DNC a concern following Trump assassination attempt, federal assessment says. “US security officials are on alert for possible retaliatory attacks against Democrats following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, according to a new intelligence report obtained by CNN.” [CNN]
Secret Service, police provide final Chicago DNC security update.“CPD Supt. Larry Snelling and Derek Mayer from the Secret Service reassured the public about their confidence in the safety plans in place, including being able to manage what could be tens of thousands of people joining rallies and marches outside the convention.” [Fox 32 Chicago]
From a pig as political candidate to a breakout speech for Obama — Democratic National Convention often leaves its mark on history. “These conventions can be places where new faces are launched, or they can be so dull that the country is functionally put to sleep.” [The Conversation]
Dan Rather Looks Back at Turbulent 1968 Democratic Convention, Says Biden-Harris Switch Was 'Almost Anticlimactic' in Comparison. “The country did quickly steady itself and move forward. But the psychological effects and long-range political ramifications of what happened in Chicago reverberate today.” [Variety]
2024 is not 1968 — and the Democratic convention in Chicago will play out very differently than in the days of Walter Cronkite. “But just because a situation echoes the past does not mean history is repeating itself. Today’s media is completely different, and a machine politician is no longer at the helm in Chicago.” [The Conversation]
Uncommitted Delegates Demand To Be Heard At Democratic National Convention. “Delegates for an anti-war, pro-Palestinian voting [bloc are] calling for Democratic National Convention organizers to allow a doctor who’s been on Gaza’s front lines to speak at the presidential nominating event about the humanitarian crisis.” [Huffpost]
Pro-Palestinian activists prepare to rally at Democratic convention in Chicago. “The Chicago Police Department has been training to de-escalate threats of unrest at the convention and is calling in hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state for backup.” [Los Angeles Times]
Chicago migrant encampment cleared; city officials deny it’s because of DNC.“Some city officials estimate that thousands of migrants could be bused up to the city for the convention to wreak havoc, as a visual counterpoint to liberal policies that led to unprecedented border crossings over the fall and winter.” [Chicago Tribune]
