Harris set for her turn in convention spotlight

CHICAGO — Tonight, it’s her turn. 

All week, Democrats from Michelle Obama to Joe Biden sought to introduce Vice President Harris to the nation. 

On Thursday night, as the clock ticks closer to Election Day and former President Trump tries to define her, she will give the nation a glimpse of her personality, politics and potential to win in November.

One prominent Democratic donor who knows Harris said her speech should be “high level, exciting, and vibrant.” 

It will not, the donor suggested, delve deeply into public policy positions, even as Republicans seek to pressure the vice president into showing more of her cards.

Democrats don’t think there’s any reason for Harris to use the convention address to get into such specifics, especially as she rides her wave of momentum.

“The idea that she should talk about policy is ridiculous,” the donor said. “It should be forward-looking, and sticking with the theme of we’re not going back. 

“This is about making Trump the incumbent,” the donor added.  

Such arguments drive Republicans crazy. Harris has been vice president since 2021, and President Biden has cast her as a key part of his administration. As such, Trump and the GOP argue she is inheriting Biden’s record over the past four years. If anyone is the incumbent in the race, it is Harris, not Trump, they say.

Yet it is Harris who feels like the cup of fresh tea in the race.

Biden, 81, dropped out of the contest and endorsed her a month ago, as polls found him trailing Trump, 78. At the time, polls found many Americans disliking their main choices and desiring a new option.

Harris, who at 59 seems a generation removed from Trump and Biden, walked into that vacuum, and she’s narrowed the polling gap with Trump.

Thursday night is the key moment of the convention for the vice president, and her preparation underscores how serious she is about making the right impression.

Harris has spent recent days working on her speech with former Obama speechwriter and author Adam Frankel at her hotel in Chicago. With Frankel’s participation, observers who know the speechwriter say it will include soaring rhetoric. 

Harris faces the challenging task of inspiring in a way that former President Obama and Oprah Winfrey have the nights before at the convention, while also reintroducing herself to America and proving to Democrats that she can beat Trump in November.

Harris will focus on her background, emphasizing her roots in a middle-class neighborhood with a working mom, according to a campaign official. 

The convention programming so far this week hasn’t been too focused on Harris’s personal side, aside from remarks from the second gentleman Doug Emhoff and some quips from others about how she worked at McDonald’s during college.

Harris’s family, including sister Maya Harris and niece Meena Harris, will appear for the first time on the convention stage Thursday and shine a spotlight onto her life outside of politics.

While Democrats have appeared energized and united at the convention all week, Harris has the opportunity to resonate with independents and moderates in critical swing states with her story.

“The enthusiasm of the Democratic base is palpable here. It’s energized and it’s real and to the extent that this is a base election, that will be a success for the vice president,” Democratic strategist Al Mottur said.

Mottur said Harris has to make an appeal to the small number of swing voters who voted for Obama, and then Trump, particularly if they reside in the states set to determine the election’s outcome — Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

“Those people don’t know her well and with this speech, she’s going to have to give them comfort that she will be a great choice,” added Mottur, a bundler at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted that Harris will show off that she can be a moving but also sharp speaker during her remarks.

“She’s very strong. She knows the policy, she knows the strategy, she knows all of that. And she’s eloquent in speaking about it, as she will see further tonight,” Pelosi said in an interview at the Politico/CNN grill at the Democratic National Convention. “Politically, she’s very astute.”

When asked about the role gender plays in this election, Pelosi added, “She happens to be a woman, and that is icing on the cake.”

“People want to know, what does your presidency mean to me at my table, so I think that you will see her just as she does — she talks about the kitchen table issues,” Pelosi said, adding that Harris will likely talk about lowering costs of groceries, health care, child care, and housing.