CHICAGO (WHDH) - Members of the Massachusetts delegation to this week’s Democratic National Convention were excited Monday morning ahead of the first day of speeches in Chicago.
Speaking with 7NEWS, delegates said they were particularly eager to give President Joe Biden his time in the spotlight while also rallying around the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after Biden’s historic decision to end his reelection campaign and endorse Harris.
“There’s a new enthusiastic response by the Democratic party,” said Bob Colt, a DNC delegate from Winchester. “People are saying ‘Hey, we’ve got new life. We’ve got new energy.’”
Colt has been a delegate since 1992.
With this year’s election rapidly approaching, Colt said the party is “ready to roll.”
“It’s rolling pretty well so far,” he said.
“This is what I live for,” said delegate David Seaton.
Where Colt has been a part of conventions for more than 30 years, Seaton is attending his first convention as one of the Massachusetts delegation’s youngest members.
Seaton is currently a freshman at Tufts University and said he has been involved in politics since Pete Buttigieg mounted his campaign for president beginning in 2019.
“I’m excited to be a part of the most important political event in the Democratic party,” Seaton said.
Biden faced mounting calls to step aside following his performance on the debate stage against Donald Trump in late June.
He will now headline Monday’s DNC speaking program, passing the torch rather than carrying it.
“He’s very enthusiastic about going to Chicago tonight,” former Biden White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told CNN Monday morning.
Among other remarks, Klain said his former boss is excited to make the case for Harris and Walz.
Darnell Williams, the assistant whip to the Massachusetts DNC delegation, said Biden “showed me a profile in courage,” with his decision.
“He stepped aside and elevated Kamala,” Williams said. “…Now it’s a whole new ballgame.”
Harris secured a landslide of endorsements within hours of Biden’s announcement that he would end his campaign.
She formally secured her party’s nomination for president in a virtual roll call vote earlier this month.
After a weekend spent campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Harris was in Chicago Monday where she discussed her expected speech to the DNC on Thursday.
“It’s almost done,” she told reporters. “There are just some little tweaks and I’m going to work on it probably starting tomorrow for the next couple of days. But it’s coming along.”
“I’m feeling good about it,” Harris said.
While Harris eyes her speech, Walz was at the Pennsylvania DNC delegates breakfast in Chicago Monday morning. In his remarks, he said Harris is bringing joy back to the presidential race.
“This politics can be not just against something,” he said.
Biden will deliver Monday’s keynote address. But he will not be the day’s only speaker.
Former first lady, former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillarry Clinton will also take the stage, likely creating an emotional moment for at least one Massachusetts delegate.
“I will probably be teary,” said Doreen Goodrich from Auburn. “When she lost that election I closed my eyes, shut the TV off and didn’t watch TV for two weeks. It was heartbreaking.”
First Lady Jill Biden is among other speakers expected to address the DNC Monday.
Stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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