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Democratic National Convention
Not even a year out from the last presidential election, the Democratic National Committee has begun setting up a framework for the party's next round of presidential primary elections, which could upend the early-voting calendar yet again. The Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee on Monday approved a plan giving states until January 16 to submit applications to hold voting contests in the early window ahead of Super Tuesday, when a massive haul of delegates will be awarded. Four or five states will get an early slot, and all four regions East, Midwest, South and West must be represented, according to the framework. No huge tranche of delegates is necessarily at stake in the early-voting contests, but their heft has traditionally played a pivotal role for candidates seeking to lead their parties, with heavy travel rotations meaning high visibility for the states involved. We are committed to executing a fair and transparent process that will deliver a .
Democrats on Saturday elected Ken Martin, the party leader in Minnesota, as the national chair, turning to a low-profile Midwestern political operative to coordinate their resistance to Donald Trump's presidency. Martin succeeds Jaime Harrison of South Carolina atop the Democratic National Committee. Harrison did not seek another term after the 2024 election when Trump became the first Republican to win the popular vote in two decades and made modest gains with core Democratic constituencies African Americans, Latinos and working-class voters, among them. Martin offered a warning to Trump and his Republican allies after the vote was announced: We're coming. This is a new Democratic Party. We're taking the gloves off. Martin now becomes one of the most important players in the Democratic Party's comeback attempt as Trump pushes the limits of presidential power. While Martin promised bold changes, he said he could not discuss specific actions until the party conducted a postelection
Democrats, desperately seeking a new message and messengers to push back against the Trump administration, will elect a new leader Saturday in a low-profile Democratic National Committee election that could have big implications for the party's future. More than 400 DNC members from every state and US territory have gathered in suburban Washington for the election, which features a slate of candidates dominated by party insiders. Outgoing Chair Jaime Harrison is not seeking reelection. Most of the candidates acknowledge that the Democratic brand is badly damaged, but few are promising fundamental changes. Indeed, nearly three months after Donald Trump won the popular vote and gained ground among key Democratic constituencies, there is little agreement on what exactly went wrong. Facing an emboldened Trump presidency, however, the leading candidates are talking tough. As we reel with shock at the horror that Trump is visiting on communities across this country, we need a DNC and a D
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday thanked deep-pocketed Democratic donors who raised record sums in last month's election loss to President-elect Donald Trump and urged them not to lose hope and to remain politically engaged. Biden and Harris, along with their spouses, in remarks at the Democratic National Committee holiday reception sought to buck up key donors who the Democratic Party needs to stay committed as it tries to pick up the pieces. Republicans scored a decisive victory taking the White House and Senate while maintaining control of the House in an election where donors of all political stripes spent about USD 4.7 billion. We all get knocked down. My dad would say when you get knocked down, you just got to get up, Biden said. The measure of a person or a party is how fast they get back up. Harris, who stepped in as the party's presidential nominee after Biden ended his campaign in July following his disastrous debate performance, praised donor
As he concludes his time as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison is downplaying his party's November loss to President-elect Donald Trump and arguing Democrats avoided even greater losses that parties in power have faced around the world. But he acknowledged that Democrats must do a better job of selling the party's priorities and accomplishments for the working class. He also called for continued nationwide investments in party infrastructure and better use of non-legacy media. I can't tell you how disappointed I am that Kamala Harris is not going to be the next president of the United States, Harrison said in an interview Monday. But the political pendulum in this country has been swinging swiftly, back and forth, he added, and we got to buckle up and get ready for it to continue. Harrison made similar arguments in a memo being distributed Tuesday to Democratic Party leaders and donors around the country. Although Democrats did not achieve what we set out
Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets. The matchup, hosted by CBS News in New York, might not carry the same stakes as the September 10 debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. But it offers their top lieutenants a fresh opportunity to introduce themselves, vouch for their bosses and fulfil a time-honoured role of a running mate: attack dog. It will involve the biggest television and online audience either No. 2 will see before Election Day. Walz, the 60-year-old Minnesota governor, and Vance, a 40-year-old US senator from Ohio, have previewed potential approaches for weeks. Walz, before Harris selected him, was the Democrat who coined weird as a go-to pejorative for the Republican ticket. Vance assails the governor's progressive ...
Several cars at the back of a motorcade carrying Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz crashed while heading from the airport to a campaign stop in Milwaukee on Monday, but Walz was unhurt. The crashed occurred shortly before 1 p.m. local time. Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign said she spoke with Walz shortly after the crash and that he was not injured. The campaign said the crash involved cars near the rear of the motorcade, not closer to the front, where Walz, who is also the governor of Minnesota, was riding. A member of Walz traveling staff, who was in a van carrying reporters, was injured and being treated by medics, according to a pool report from a reporter traveling in Walz's motorcade. The pool reporter said others in the van were shaken but appeared to be OK after being violently thrown forward, as our van slammed into the one in front of us and was hit from behind. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. The crash occurred after Walz and his wife
Leaders of an Uncommitted movement, which garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries across the nation in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, have been negotiating for weeks to secure a speaking slot for a Palestinian American at the Democratic National Convention this week. The negotiations stalled late Wednesday when leaders with the Uncommitted National Movement say a Democratic National Committee official called and delivered a firm response: The answer is no. The leader, Abbas Alawieh, an Uncommitted delegate to the convention and co-founder of the movement, described the call as shocking after weeks of talks that he felt were positive. In response, he and other delegates decided to stage a sit-in outside Chicago's United Center, where the convention is being held. They spent the night on the sidewalk on Wednesday, and vowed to remain until their request was granted or the convention ended Thursday night. When we ran out of options doing everything we can and
Vice President Kamala Harris, in the most important speech of her political life, is expected to outline her personal story and give an optimistic vision for the future in a bid to persuade the American people to make her the first woman president of the country. Tonight, I think it will be one of the greatest speeches we're going to hear in this election season, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker told reporters here Thursday, hours ahead of a speech by Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago where she accepts the presidential nomination, the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party. Harris, 59, is the first ever Indian-American and the first ever Black woman to be nominated on a major presidential ticket in the US, and she will take on Republican Party's Donald Trump in elections in November. Taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago to accept her nomination as the Democratic nominee, Harris, in her address, will share her personal story and her professiona
The parents of a 23-year-old American taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel gave a moving speech Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, pleading for the release of the dozens of people who continue to be held captive in Gaza. This is a political convention. But needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue, said Jon Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin lost his part of his left arm and was kidnapped from Israel by militants who attacked the music festival he was attending. Polin and his wife, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, were greeted with an extended ovation and chants of bring him home by the thousands of Democratic delegates in Chicago. They steered clear of politics in their 10-minute speech, but Jon Polin said the families of the American hostages meet regularly in Washington and are heartened to see bipartisan support for securing the release of their loved ones. President Joe Biden
Hope is making a comeback in America, former first lady Michelle Obama has said as she made an impassioned case for Kamala Harris and described her as the most qualified person ever to seek the office of the US president. Michelle, in her speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, described Vice President Harris as a candidate who worked her way up from a middle-class background, drawing on lessons from the two women's late mothers. "America, Hope is making a comeback," Michelle, the wife of former president Barack Obama, said as she was given a rousing welcome by thousands of Democratic party leaders and workers from across the country for the national convention. Harris, 59, is scheduled to formally accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Thursday to take on Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the November 5 election. Recollecting the death of her mother recently, Michelle, 60, said she was an inspiration for her and so was the mother of ...
President Joe Biden delivered his valedictory address to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, as his decision to end his reelection bid released newfound energy within his party with Vice President Kamala Harris ' elevation to the top of the ticket. After 52 years rising to the pinnacle of influence within his party, Biden, 81, received a hero's welcome for the act of stepping aside for Harris, weeks after many in his party were pressuring him to drop his bid for reelection. One month after an unprecedented mid-campaign switch from Biden to Harris, the opening night of the convention in Chicago was designed as a handoff from the incumbent to his hand-picked successor albeit four years before he intended for her to follow him. A visibly emotional Biden was greeted by a more than four-minute-long ovation and chants of Thank you Joe. America, I love you, he replied. Democrats are looking to the weeklong event to give a graceful exit to the incumbent president and ...
Vice President Kamala Harris has the character, experience and vision to lead the United States forward, former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton said on Monday as she addressed thousands of Democratic Party leaders and members from across the country to nominate the former attorney as their nominee for the November presidential elections. Kamala has the character, experience, and vision to lead us forward, the 76-year-old, who unsuccessfully contested against Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, said at the Democratic National Convention. I know her heart and her integrity. We both got our start as young lawyers helping children who were abused or neglected. That kind of work changes you. Those kids stay with you. Kamala carries with her the hopes of every child she protected, every family she helped, every community she served, Clinton said. So as president, she will always have our backs. She will fight to lower costs for hard-working families. Open the