On day one of the Democratic National Convention, NV Dems hosted breakfast for delegates with a packed speaking program and rallied for Vice President Kamala Harris at the United Center. Breakfast speakers included NV Dems Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno, Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, the Honorable Pete Buttigieg, and the Honorable Deb Haaland who discussed key issues that matter most to Nevadans and the nation. Vice President Harris’ childhood best friend and Nevadan Stacey Johnson-Batiste also delivered a heartfelt speech about her time growing up with the Vice President.
See more about what Nevadans were up to on day one below:
STACEY JOHNSON-BATISTE AND MOTHER DORIS JOHNSON: “Kamala has always been a protector. One day at school … for whatever reason, a boy in our class took mine, threw it on the ground and it shattered. Kamala jumped in between him and me and said something that made him so mad, he picked up a rock or something and hit her on the head. Blood came streaming down and the school called Shamala to come take her to the hospital. The stitches she got left a scar over one of her eyes. She still has it. That’s the kind of person Kamala has always been from the very beginning, someone who doesn’t hesitate to stand up for what’s right, to take up for the underdog, and to stand up to bullies. I have seen it time and again, whether the bully is an individual, a gang, or a corporation. She fights for all of us.”
Las Vegas Sun: Biden delivers emotional speech at DNC, passing spotlight to Harris
Haajrah Gilani
Key Points:
- President Joe Biden took the stage late Monday night at the United Center to conclude the first day of the Democratic National Convention greeted by signs proclaiming, “We love Joe.”
- He shifted to the business at hand: Passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House.
- The speakers ahead of Biden touted the accomplishments of his presidency and zeroed in on how Harris, the party’s presidential nominee, will continue their shared legacy if elected in November.
- Nevada delegates at the convention also felt that energy, they said, including earlier Monday when Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg spoke at the delegation’s breakfast Monday morning. And at the Black Caucus, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Harris’ running mate — commended leadership in Nevada for their efforts in fundraising and signing up new volunteers.
- Daniele Monroe-Moreno, the chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party, said “all roads to the White House lead through Nevada” in reference to how the Silver State is one of six crucial swing states that will determine if Harris or former President Donald Trump wins in November.
- Monroe-Moreno pointed to the state’s female majority Supreme Court and how both federal senators are women as another example of how Nevada serves as an example for progress for other states.
Las Vegas Review-Journal: ‘America, I gave my best for you’: Biden addresses DNC
Jessica Hill
Key Points:
- President Joe Biden took center stage to rapturous applause at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night to make the case why his second-in-command, Vice President Kamala Harris, should be the next president.
- Daniel Corona, first vice chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party, said the convention feels like a music festival or concert. The mood matches the excitement the party has for Harris, he said. Throughout the night, an energized crowd chanted “we’re not going back” and “keep going.” Some attendees wore green “brat” Kamala buttons, pride pins and light-up cowboy hats.
- Biden has been a tremendous president, Corona said, and he thinks Biden will go down as one of the most consequential presidents in American history, especially for a one-term president. But he hasn’t excited the base the way Harris has, Corona said.
- “I don’t think it would be the level of excitement that we’re seeing here,” he said. “I don’t think that the lines for the merch store would be as long as they’ve been. Kamala Harris has kind of breathed new air into the party.”
- “This is a really historical moment,” said Erica Roth, a Reno resident who is running for Assembly District 24.
- Ever since the top of the ticket changed and Harris stepped forward, “the energy of the party has completely shifted, and I think that that’s really reflected here tonight,” Roth said.
Las Vegas Sun: Horsford, Democrats stress importance of mobilizing Black vote in fall elections
Haajrah Gilani
Key Points:
- U.S. Rep Steven Horsford, D-Nev., was direct when addressing the Democratic National Committee’s Black Caucus during the first day of the Democratic National Convention about the stakes of November’s election.
- “When we do our job between now and Election Day, not only will we elect the 47th president of the United States, Kamala Harris — who is a lifetime member of the (Congressional Black Caucus) by the way — but we will also win back the House, taking back the majority,” Horsford said during the Monday meeting.
- Horsford, the chairman of Congressional Black Caucus, stressed a key mission for both parties in controlling voter power in Congress to pave the way to get priorities approved.
- “We understand that when we uplift Black America, we uplift everybody, because our next president needs partners in Congress who can get the job done,” Horsford said.
NBC News: How Harris built her political network as vice president
Jonathan Allen
Key Points:
- In other words, there was a ready core of Harris supporters ready to jump into action.
- “She’s been putting in the work, not just over the last few weeks, but the last few months, the last few years,” said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., who recalls Harris meeting with culinary union workers — the most powerful labor group in his state — for back-of-the-hall tours, roundtables and a major address in January.
- “Those same workers are now showing up for her, you know, launching one of the largest ground campaigns I’ve seen. … That’s going to pay great dividends.”
- If Harris manages to win Nevada for Democrats for a fifth straight election — despite most polls showing former President Donald Trump with a small lead — the 60,000-member culinary workers union’s turnout effort will be at the heart of the victory.NBC News: How Harris built her political network as vice president
Wall Street Journal: Kentucky’s Beshear Says He Will Discuss Abortion Rights in Convention Speech
Ken Thomas
Key Points:
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told delegates Monday that he would use his convention address to speak about reproductive rights, a key issue that powered his 2023 re-election victory in the conservative state.
- Beshear, who is viewed as a rising Democratic star, will address the convention on Monday night. During a breakfast meeting, he introduced himself to Nevada Democrats as a “proud pro-choice governor” on abortion who supports unions, diversity and education.
- He noted that his political action committee was supporting the re-election campaign of Sen. Jacky Rosen (D., Nev.), one of the most competitive races for control of the Senate.
Washington Examiner: Democrats united in dismissing threat from third-party candidates
By Mabinty Quarshie, Hailey Bullis, Naomi Lim, Samantha-Jo Roth
Key Points:
- At the Democratic National Convention, party members and delegates remained united in saying that third-party candidates, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Jill Stein, and Cornel West, were no longer a significant threat to the party.
- “I don’t fear them. There’s that saying you either run unopposed or you run scared,” said Daniele Monroe-Moreno, chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party, a top battleground state. “And it’s our job as a party and our volunteers and my team just get the vote out and tell our story about the work that we have been doing, both at the national level and the state level, to make sure that people understand how they’re voting and what that vote means.”
Last week, the NV Dems hosted two DNC Delegate Send-off Celebrations in Las Vegas and Sparks, bringing together key leaders and supporters to rally behind Nevada’s delegation before they headed off to Chicago. Las Vegas native Megan Jones, a senior adviser with Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, shared that Harris has what it takes to win Nevada.
Read more below:
Las Vegas Sun: Team Reid prepared vice president’s top adviser to meet historic moment
Haajrah Gilani
Key Points:
- Jones, a former adviser to the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, said the Silver State will play a key role in determining who wins the White House. And Harris has what it takes to win Nevada, she said.
- That is reflective of who Vice President Harris is and how she makes sure that everybody is at the table and feels valued. It was a small thing. Landra Reid was the most influential person in Sen. Reid’s life, and Vice President Harris knew that her opinion was just as important as Sen. Reid’s. I feel very lucky to have been in that meeting and to have witnessed their interaction.
- She does that work, not because she wants to win an election, but she wants to go fight for the people of this country. Nevada is a microcosm, as Sen. Reid said many times. If you can win in Nevada, you can win anywhere. She understands the issues Nevadans face in a way that Donald Trump never will.
- The stakes couldn’t be higher and the contrast could not be clearer between the president, the former president and the vice president of the United States and who works on behalf of the people. Nevadans can see pretty clearly what her values and positions are and what her accomplishments and what her vision is for the future, and that he’s rolled back our rights. He’s rolled back reproductive freedom to a place where my daughter has fewer rights than I do.
Las Vegas Sun: As DNC kicks off, Nevada delegates share enthusiasm for Harris-Walz ticket
Haajrah Gilani
Key Points:
- Even before she votes in her first presidential election, 20-year-old Las Vegas resident Carolyn Salvador Avila will travel to Chicago for “the opportunity of a lifetime” to represent Nevada as a delegate at this week’s Democratic National Convention.
- Salvador Avila is among a group of 17 delegates from Nevada under the age of 36 who are responsible for making the 49-member Nevada delegation the youngest at the convention, convention officials said.
- Donna West, who chairs the Nevada Democratic Party’s senior caucus, said President Joe Biden’s administration “has done more for seniors than any president in decades.” For West, the rights for seniors are one of the many liberties she says are at risk this presidential election when Vice President Kamala Harris faces former President Donald Trump.
- Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II says being a delegate this year will be much different from his first time in 2020. Now, he is looking forward to attending the Black caucus and labor council meetings, listening to speakers and showing his pride for Nevada in Chicago.
Las Vegas Review-Journal: 5 things that could come out of the DNC
Jessica Hill
Key Points:
- Nevada was the first battleground state Harris visited in 2024 and was the first early primary battleground state to unanimously pledge its delegates to Harris once Biden exited the race, according to the state Democratic party.
- Every morning of the convention, Nevada’s Democratic delegates will hold a breakfast that will feature well-known Democratic leaders who will speak to the state’s delegates, according to Nevada State Democratic Party Chairwoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno. Those speakers include Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
- Like Nevada’s congressional delegation and its legislative makeup, the Democratic national delegation will be represented by a female majority, according to Democratic Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, who spoke at a delegate send-off event Thursday.
- Monroe-Moreno, who was the first Black woman to be elected to serve as chair of the state Democratic party, said she will be joined by other Black women who also became the first chairs of their state parties. There will be a Black Political Excellence Event to honor those women on Thursday afternoon, Monroe-Moreno said.
- “When you look at who we are, Nevada’s delegation is like a microcosm of who we are as America,” Monroe-Moreno said. “We are one of the most diverse delegations because we are one of the most diverse states in the nation. It’s representative of who we are, and every voice matters and is, we’re active in this community, but nationwide.”
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