While covering Night One of the Democratic convention from Chicago, PBS News Hour reporter Laura Barron-Lopez was as energized as a Democratic delegate (or PBS’s introductory voiceover to its coverage), gushing over a “Kamala Cake” featured by a local bakery and relaying the “palpable enthusiasm” from the convention floor.
Anchor Amna Nawaz: Laura Barron-Lopez is here on the convention floor. She's been reporting on Harris' surge in polling.
Barron-Lopez, who usually covers the White House, was quite enthused with the “new sense of hope around Vice President Harris's nomination,” both in and outside the arena, like at the Brown Sugar Bakery owned by Stephanie Hart.
Barron-Lopez: At the Brown Sugar Bakery on Chicago's South Side, a new item has generated a lot of excitement. Sixty-eight-year-old Robert Hawkins Jr. showed up an hour before the bakery even opened to make sure he got a taste of what's called the Kamala Cake.….
Barron-Lopez: Hart created the Kamala cake based on what Vice President Harris ordered when she paid a visit to the bakery in 2021.
Stephanie Hart: And I'm so excited that we have a woman, that we have a black woman, but that we have somebody that can actually get into a ring and shut them the hell up….
Barron-Lopez: For Democrats, that excitement is now being felt across the country. Enthusiasm for Harris among Democratic voters has climbed dramatically compared to before President Biden dropped out of the race last month….
She talked to Chicago bartender Michelle Centanno at “the city's first bar to employ all female bartenders in the 1970s,” who said, “I am really excited about this upcoming election because it's just a testament for how far we have come.”
University of Illinois-Chicago student Skye Vera loved Harris’s stands on what Barron-Lopez called “LGBTQ rights and women's access to abortion” but not so much Biden’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Lopez only found concerns on that pro-Hamas left, emphasizing the “thousands of protesters to show up this week to make their voices heard outside the DNC.”
Anchor Geoff Bennett pivoted to policy, while Barron-Lopez, back live on the convention floor, made a brief mention of the “mostly peaceful” pro-Hamas protesters having broken through a security barrier, before talking some more about the bakery. Pro-Harris bakery owner Stephanie Hart somehow featured again.
Geoff Bennett: Democrats have greeted the Harris nomination with a lot of enthusiasm. What are those voters telling you about how they feel about the policies she's put forward so far?
Barron-Lopez: Geoff, Harris and her running mate have really leaned into their middle-class credentials. And Harris has recently been highlighting the fact that she worked at McDonald's during college in both a campaign ad and on the trail, and Tim Walz has gone after J.D. Vance and President -- former President Trump for their Ivy League background. And that -- Stephanie Hart, that bakery business owner that I spoke to here in Chicago, specifically mentioned Harris coming from the middle class is something that really resonates with her. Other voters said that as well. Stephanie Hart employs more than 40 people, many of them women with children and she said that she really likes Kamala Harris's childcare proposals….
She went on to say that “There's a palpable excitement here, Geoff.” And clearly within Barron-Lopez herself.
This segment was brought to you in part by Consumer Cellular.
A transcript is available:
PBS News Hour
8/19/24
7:02:57 p.m. (ET)
Amna Nawaz: Democrats will kick off their convention tonight here in Chicago, a very different event than was being planned just one month ago.
Geoff Bennett: Vice President Kamala Harris is set to formally accept her party's nomination for president later this week. But tonight we will culminate with a speech from the current occupant of the White House — that's President Joe Biden — who ended his own campaign for reelection last month, clearing the way for Harris.
Amna Nawaz: Laura Barron-Lopez is here on the convention floor. She's been reporting on Harris' surge in polling — Laura.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Amna and Geoff, from business owners to college students, Democrats have a new sense of hope around Vice President Harris' nomination. And I have been speaking to voters here in Chicago to see if Harris can maintain that energy from now until November.
Stephanie Hart, Owner, Brown Sugar Bakery: If he can make more of these, because people are coming.
Laura Barron-Lopez: At the Brown Sugar Bakery on Chicago's South Side, a new item has generated a lot of excitement. Sixty-eight-year-old Robert Hawkins Jr. showed up an hour before the bakery even opened to make sure he got a taste of what's called the Kamala Cake.
Robert Hawkins Jr., Chicago Resident: I had to come and get this particular cake because my wife wanted it. I wouldn't have been able to sleep all night.
Stephanie Hart: So, on the inside, it's a traditional German chocolate cake, but the whipped cream has caramel and chocolate in it
Laura Barron-Lopez: Sixty-two-year-old Stephanie Hart is the owner of the bakery.
How did you feel about this election before she jumped into the race, when it was a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden?
Stephanie Hart: Scared, nervous, worried.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Have the vibes changed in your neighborhood and your community since the race has changed?
Stephanie Hart: Absolutely. People are talking. People are engaged. People are hopeful. People are getting involved.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Hart created the Kamala cake based on what Vice President Harris ordered when she paid a visit to the bakery in 2021.
Stephanie Hart: And I'm so excited that we have a woman, that we have a Black woman, but that we have somebody that can actually get into a ring and shut them the hell up.
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it?
Laura Barron-Lopez: For Democrats, that excitement is now being felt across the country. Enthusiasm for Harris among Democratic voters has climbed dramatically compared to before President Biden dropped out of the race last month.
Trying to build on that momentum over the weekend, Harris campaigned across Southwestern Pennsylvania with her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, before heading to Chicago.
Kamala Harris: And we will win. And we will win.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Several recent polls have shown Harris now slightly leading former President Trump nationally and continuing to gain ground among voters in crucial battleground states.
Michelle Centanno, Bartender: You let me know if you want to keep that tab open.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Inside She-nannigans on Chicago's North Side, the city's first bar to employ all female bartenders in the 1970s, Michelle Centanno says the historic nature of Harris' candidacy is inspiring.
Michelle Centanno: I am really excited about this upcoming election because it's just a testament for how far we have come.
Skye Vera, University of Illinois, Chicago: She embodies a couple of different identities, and with that, I feel like comes a different approach intrinsically.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Another crucial demographic Harris has made inroads with, young voters. Skye Vera, a student at University of Illinois, Chicago.
Skye Vera: It feels kind of like, OK, someone is in the running that looks like my neighbor or sounds like my aunt or reminds me of one of the teachers that I had when I was growing up. It's refreshing and it's empowering.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Vera says two of the issues that resonate with her are LGBTQ rights and women's access to abortion. She also says the Harris campaign has done a good job of reaching young voters on social media.
But the Biden administration's handling of the war between Israel and Hamas has her concern.
Skye Vera: Because she is coming from an administration that wasn't very quiet about the support for one side, the side being Israel, that a lot of young voters don't see that changing, unfortunately.
Laura Barron-Lopez: That's led thousands of protesters to show up this week to make their voices heard outside the DNC
Sahian Sotelo, Protester: This year, I will be voting, but not for a presidential candidate.
Laura Barron-Lopez: And why not?
Sahian Sotelo: Harris, I believe she's still complicit. I'm happy for her that she's running, but I'm not happy with the things that she's been doing.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Alex Otten, a Michigan voter, is open to supporting Harris if she changes her policy toward Israel.
Alex Otten, Protester: I'm a single-issue voter in this regard. The situation in Gaza and how the U.S. supports it ties into a lot of the problems we have at home. And I can't ignore it. It's not something I can say, oh, well, at least she will support gay marriage or at least she will support trans people.
Laura Barron-Lopez: While protests remain peaceful today, author Craig Sautter still remembers what Chicago looked like when Democrats gathered here in 1968.
Craig Sautter, Author: There were helicopters overhead. There were jeeps, army jeeps with barbed wires on them. They come not to arrest people, but they're coming swinging their clubs, firing tear gas into the crowd.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Sautter was one of thousands of protesters fighting for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. Scenes of violent clashes with police were broadcast around the country. And fights amongst Democrats broke out on the convention floor.
Craig Sautter: I don't think we will see that at this convention. It's going to be somewhat of a pep rally for Harris. So the party's totally unified and ready to go.
Laura Barron-Lopez: But back at the Brown Sugar Bakery, Stephanie Hart says there's still a lot of work to do before November.
Stephanie Hart: I think it's important for us to not be fooled by polls, because I'm so glad she's up. But let's not play any games. There's a whole lot riding on this. And we need to make sure every day we're talking to somebody about what's at stake in this race and get out and vote.
Laura Barron-Lopez: Geoff, while protests were mostly peaceful earlier today, protesters have now broken through the security barrier just outside the Democratic National Convention. But, also, as you heard there, we spoke to two key constituencies, Black voters and young voters. Harris will need both of them in order to win in November.
Geoff Bennett: Democrats have greeted the Harris nomination with a lot of enthusiasm. What are those voters telling you about how they feel about the policies she's put forward so far?
Laura Barron-Lopez: Geoff, Harris and her running mate have really leaned into their middle-class credentials. And Harris has recently been highlighting the fact that she worked at McDonald's during college in both a campaign ad and on the trail, and Tim Walz has gone after J.D. Vance and President — former President Trump for their Ivy League background.
And that — Stephanie Hart, that bakery business owner that I spoke to here in Chicago, specifically mentioned Harris coming from the middle class is something that really resonates with her. Other voters said that as well. Stephanie Hart employs more than 40 people, many of them women with children and she said that she really likes Kamala Harris' childcare proposals.
And just this past week, Harris unveiled more proposals on that, saying that she wants to expand the child tax credit to some $6,000 for parents with newborn children, as well as $3,600 for parents the rest of their children's upbringing.
Geoff Bennett: Well, let's shift our focus to tonight. You have spent the last few hours here inside this arena speaking to delegates. Give us a sense of the mood, Laura.
Laura Barron-Lopez: There's a palpable excitement here, Geoff.
And in many ways, right now inside of the arena, despite what we know what's happening on outside, this is a celebration of the Harris/Walz ticket, because they have already been formally nominated and clinched the nomination.
Geoff Bennett: You have also been speaking to those uncommitted delegates. These are Democrats who cast their vote in protest of the Democrats' pro-Israel policies. What have they been telling?
Laura Barron-Lopez: So there are some 30 uncommitted delegates here, Geoff, and the uncommitted movement held a press conference this morning where they said that they are happy that Harris, they believe, is more empathetic to their cause, but they are waiting for a clear policy change.
Specifically, they want to see an arms embargo and an immediate cease-fire. Now, Kamala Harris has said that she is working towards a cease-fire with President Joe Biden, and the administration believes that they're close. But we also spoke to an uncommitted delegate in Michigan, and he said that they are still waiting to hear from the DNC on whether or not they will be able to have a Palestinian-American speak on the main stage this week.
That is still an outstanding ask, and they warned that they believe that if Kamala Harris doesn't speak directly to them and if her policies don't change, that she could lose the 100,000 voters in Michigan who voted uncommitted during the primary.
Geoff Bennett: And, lastly, Laura, what can we expect tonight as this convention gets under way day one?
Laura Barron-Lopez: We're going to be hearing from — from some big names tonight in Democratic politics, Geoff, House Democrats like Jim Clyburn, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jamie Raskin.
We're also going to be hearing from first lady Jill Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And, of course, tonight, the big keynote address is coming from President Joe Biden himself, and he's going to be introduced by his daughter Ashley.
And this is a marking of his legacy, Geoff, very different than what the president initially expected, but tonight is going to be honoring his legacy and also a passing of the torch from him to Kamala Harris.
