Always marquee events in any presidential election year, the 2024 editions of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions laid the groundwork for Vice President Kamala Harris’ and former President Donald Trump’s respective bids for the White House. While the two events mirrored each other in a myriad of ways, they also put on full display their different messages to the American public. It culminated in the candidates showing their impact on the presidential race and giving insight into what the next few months will look like in American politics.
The Republican National Convention (RNC) took place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee from July 15th to July 18th. The convention happened with the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump only days prior: Trump claimed the event caused him to change the tone of his speech on the final day to focus on national unity rather than attacking his opponent, President Joe Biden. Entering the convention, Biden was polling at a record low for the campaign season, and this wasn’t lost on its attendees. “There was a lot [of] confidence at the time,” said Illinois RNC Delegate Jay Bergman. Enthusiasm and optimism were running high in the Republican camp.
The first day of the convention was highlighted by the selection of freshman Ohio Senator JD Vance as Trump’s vice presidential running mate, announced on the former president’s social media site Truth Social rather than at the convention. The decision was made to increase support among the Republican base, though it has garnered criticism as Vance’s appeal has been limited among some of the American electorate. Bergman doubts that Vance was a uniquely good pick to rally the core of the party, stating that, “[Republicans] would’ve probably supported almost anyone [for Vice President].” Vance’s speech on the convention’s penultimate day, though targeted at a more general audience, generated enthusiasm at the venue but received lukewarm reception elsewhere.
As has become the standard in today’s Republican Party, presidential candidate Trump was the main focus of the convention. He received strong support individually from the plethora of speakers, including his primary opponents former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who both emphasized the importance of the party coming together to back Trump. Performers such as Kid Rock, Lee Greenwood, and Chris Janson made appearances at the convention, and combined with celebrity guest speakers such as Hulk Hogan, helped excite the 50,000-strong list of delegates and prominent party figures who made the trip to Milwaukee.
Notably, given the unusually large gap between the RNC and DNC (one month compared to a typical length of one week), there was plenty of time for the impact of the convention to be felt and potentially countered by a major announcement from the opposing party. Even with Trump’s shift to a more inclusive tone, much of the Republican National Convention still focused on defeating then-candidate Biden. The announcement that he was dropping out and that Vice President Kamala Harris would be replacing him on the ballot might have dampened a lot of the messaging that the RNC looked to convey to voters. “Most of the messaging was related to [Biden]… the message has changed totally [after Harris was nominated],” said Bergman. Simultaneously, this replacement turned all eyes toward the next marquee political event: the opposing political convention held 100 miles to the south.
From August 19th to August 22nd, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was held at the United Center in Chicago, celebrating the mark of a new generation of Democrats. With several notable and celebrity supporters of Kamala Harris’s campaign, such as Youth Activist and Journalist Jack Schlossberg, comedian Kenan Thompson, and Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Frost, the convention was a lively event for the Democratic Party as it represented to many the end of an older generation of politicians who would give way for a new, younger one, as happened in a literal sense with the Democratic nomination for president. The variety and energy at the convention demonstrated the common ground they all had in the room: Their feeling that American democracy was under threat, and their shared vision to save it by electing Harris as president.
North Carolina DNC Delegate Jennifer Job said, “[The convention] was a big party… There was such a sense of excitement over the Harris campaign that it was just a huge party. They had a lot of big music stars who got people pumped up, and they had a lot of signs and swag that they handed out. Everybody was happy.” Job explained how she and many other delegates were selected to vote for Biden. However, because of his age, they were unenthusiastic about choosing him to be the Democratic Party’s nominee. With the amount of enthusiastic support at the DNC, Job witnessed the page turning while speakers and supporters collectively aimed to move forward, as boldly stated on Harris’s poster.
While there were a few speakers who primarily emphasized their support for Harris to be the next president, including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, there were a handful of others who let loose, making jokes at Trump’s expense. “I think [the speakers] spent a little bit too much time on Donald Trump. I liked the way Michelle and Barack Obama dealt with it; they didn’t speak about him a lot, but rather what was going to be exciting about a Harris presidency and what was going to be better for our lives if Harris is elected. I think that’s what the major focus should be,” said Job. In this mix of speakers who energized progressives and moderates alike, it is clear that the “party” has molded itself to Harris and her campaign.
Whether by design or by circumstance, the month-long gap between the RNC and the DNC this year resulted in the messaging being received in vastly different ways. No matter the differences, though, the two events prepared the nation for what will be a lengthy campaign season throughout these next few months in their attempts to appeal to voters all across the political spectrum.
in the Oval Office come January 2025.
