Maryland delegates Ifechukwudelu “Deli” Okafor and John Willis approach the Democratic National Convention — a four-day pep rally during which presidential nominee Kamala Harris will deliver her most important speech — from entirely different perspectives.
Okafor, 27, who is from Baltimore, is eager to experience a party convention for the first time and watch Harris’ acceptance speech Thursday at Chicago’s United Center in which the vice president will seek to deepen her connection with voters. Since vice presidents do not attract nearly as much coverage as chief executives, many knew little about Harris before President Joe Biden, 81, withdrew as the nominee last month amid concerns about his age and endorsed Harris, 59.
Delegates such as Okafor and Willis, 77, who has been attending Democratic conventions since 1976, are hopeful about the chances of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in their tight race against President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
“After the campaign reset this July, the Harris-Walz ticket is well positioned to win in the battleground states,” said Willis, a former Maryland secretary of state who adores all things politics.
In 1984, Willis brought his daughter to the Democratic convention in San Francisco. Forty years later, she has a daughter of her own — a recent Barnard College graduate— who will accompany Willis to the Chicago convention, which begins Monday.
Maryland will have 118 delegates who will stay at a downtown hotel shared with delegates from New York, Wisconsin and other states.
Willis talks nostalgically about political conventions the way others talk about college or summer camp.
“There was a wonderful one in 2004 where [Martin] O’Malley gave a concert at an Irish pub in Boston,” Willis said, referring to the former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor.
But it will all be new for Okafor — the campaign-themed convention garb, balloon drop and endless receptions and after-parties. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who is expected to deliver a prominent convention speech, and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin are among the elected officials hosting after-parties.
It will be the first full-scale Democratic convention since 2016. The 2020 convention in Milwaukee was almost entirely virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic. Delegates wore masks and maintained physical distance from others, and many planned events were simply not held.
One convention staple not returning is the official roll call of states, in which delegate counts are totaled and the presidential candidate is nominated. The roll call was done virtually earlier this month — locking in Harris as the nominee — to meet Ohio’s Aug. 7 deadline to certify candidates for the November election.
But Ken Ulman, the Maryland Democratic Party chair, said there will be a ceremonial roll call to uphold the tradition.
Ulman said his delegation enters the convention feeling buoyant, and that “there was a sigh of relief” when Biden withdrew.
“I think it’s a real testament to the president,” Ulman said. He said Biden and other Democrats understood that questions about his age were curtailing the party’s ability “to talk about the different visions for the country.” The Harris campaign has accused Trump of seeking to take away abortion rights and undermining basic democratic principles such as the peaceful transition of presidential power.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who is also heading to the convention, said Biden and Harris can tout their administration’s record but that she “brings her own accomplishments and policy objectives to the table. We’ve already seen at events in battleground states that she’s energizing young voters and building a diverse coalition of Americans.”
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, the state’s senior senator who is retiring after this year, will also attend along with other top elected officials such as Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Mayor Brandon Scott.
Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will address the delegates before Walz speaks on Wednesday and Harris on Thursday.
“I’m especially excited to hear her speech,” Okafor said. “She is the daughter of immigrants like me.”
Okafor’s parents immigrated from Nigeria. Harris is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants.
Okafor, who is active in the Young Democrats of Maryland, introduced Harris at a 2022 “get out the vote” rally in Baltimore. She said she told the vice president “Thank you for paving the way for me,” and Harris responded: “We’re changing the world together.”