CHICAGO — Former President Barack Obama’s first Democratic convention speech 20 years ago propelled him first to the Senate and then the White House. His return to the stage this week nearly eight years removed from office was a reminder of how a speech can inject unexpected contenders into the national political chatter.
For ambitious politicians, a highly coveted speaking slot at a national convention can serve as an introduction to a national audience. Speakers here this week included Democrats who were vetted for vice president and House and Senate leaders, as well as younger politicians who are considered to be potential future presidential candidates like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran in 2020.
But speaking slots could also elevate members’ profiles on Capitol Hill.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett was a standout for audience members early in the week. Crockett, a freshman who experienced internet virality in her first term, said she was apprehensive about the extra attention that could come with the appearance, but also recognized the achievement. She said her team hadn’t been able to find another Black female freshman who’d taken the stage in prime time in modern history.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had a spotlight on her since she ousted Rep. Joe Crowley in a 2018 New York City primary win. She was the sole member of the “Squad” to get a speaking slot this week.
Lateefah Simon, an organizer and social justice advocate from Oakland, Calif., hasn’t even won her election yet but she secured a prime-time speaking role Wednesday night. Simon, who is favored to win the open House seat that Rep. Barbara Lee gave up to run for Senate, worked with Vice President Kamala Harris in the San Francisco district attorney’s office two decades ago.
Simon was tasked with describing Harris, her friend and mentor, as an empathetic prosecutor who earned the trust of crime victims.
“I saw Kamala Harris holding the hands of sexual assault survivors,’’ Simon said. “I saw scores of mothers who lost their babies to gun violence lining up day after day at the courthouse waiting only to speak to Kamala because they knew they knew that she would hear them, that she would truly see them because there’s something about Kamala Harris, for those who know her, you know when she hears your story, she carries it with her.”
Simon’s high-profile moment filled members of the California delegation with pride. ”She was energetic and articulate,’’ said Brett C.S. Roberts, a delegate from Inglewood. And, he said, she filled an essential role as someone who knows Harris well and could vouch for her in front of a national audience.
Shomari Figures, an attorney from Mobile, Ala., who worked in the Obama and Biden administrations and is running for an open House seat that was redrawn after a voting rights lawsuit, took his turn on the main stage Thursday night.
Figures used his 2 minutes and 38 seconds to highlight the heroes of the civil rights movement who lived in the district, from Rosa Parks to John Lewis. “All of us owe a debt to courageous freedom fighters, both known and unknown,’’ Figures said, “a debt that can never be repaid but what we can do is ensure the work of those fighters who came before us continues.”
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson’s moment in the spotlight lasted about a minute but it was widely shared on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram. He announced the state’s vote in the roll call of delegates Tuesday night – and included a rousing call for social justice and gun control.
Pearson and his fellow state lawmakers — Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones — are known collectively as the “Tennessee Three.” They gained national attention in 2023 when Republicans expelled Jones and Pearson from the state House chamber after a gun control protest following a school shooting. They were quickly reelected to their vacated seats.
Johnson — the Democratic challenger this year to Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn — as well as Jones and Pearson have been in demand at convention-adjacent events, such as delegate breakfasts and mobilizing caucuses.
Jane Kleeb, chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, met Pearson a few years ago, at a community organizing event in Memphis, Tenn.
“He was talking in a park with Black and white landowners and climate activists, a very unlikely alliance of folks. And I looked over to one of my friends … and said, ‘He’s going to be president,”’ Kleeb recalled. “He’s a beautiful orator. He has a gift, and that comes from the church, and he has this connection with people across class and race. … There’s no question, Justin is a breakout star.”
Luz Bay, a New Hampshire delegate, said she was impressed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who spoke at the United Center on Wednesday and followed it up the following morning at a delegate breakfast.
“He has such a narrative,” Bay said. “One thing that you want for a president is someone who has the lived experience of the people, and not someone who has been so isolated and has a different upbringing and so forth.”
Bay said she was also impressed by California Rep. Ro Khanna, who has raised eyebrows about whether he has higher ambitions by making frequent trips in recent years to New Hampshire, which has traditionally hosted the first presidential primary.
Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive who’s running against former Gov. Larry Hogan for the open Senate seat in Maryland, spoke on Tuesday to the convention.
Her speech not only introduced her to a national audience, she was another character witness for Harris. Alsobrooks relayed how her grandmother, a housekeeper, taught herself to type on a piece of paper with a keyboard drawn on it because she wanted a government job but didn’t have a typewriter.
“I’ve always been inspired by women like my grandmother, women who imagine a better future and then have the grit to make it a reality. One of those women is a friend, a mentor and a role model. That woman is Kamala Harris,” Alsobrooks said.
Alsobrooks described how she was running to be the state’s attorney in Prince George’s County, and talked on the campaign trail about ideas to battle crime she’d read about in an Essence Magazine article about Harris, then the district attorney in San Francisco.
“After I won the election, my phone rings. It’s Kamala Harris calling to congratulate me and ask how she could help,” Alsobrooks said.
She exited the stage to the crowd chanting her name.
“[I] received a lot of positive feedback regarding the speech and it’s just been wonderful,” Alsobrooks said in an interview. “This whole conference has been marked with joy. There’s an optimism in the air.”
Alsobrooks was one of several Senate contenders given a chance in the spotlight, and Democrats said the convention highlighted the depth of the party’s field of up-and-comers.
“I feel very good about the bench of the party,” said Kelly Dietrich, who runs the National Democratic Training Committee, the party’s largest campaign training organization. “Part of our challenge is that there are so many really good people at the federal level, and it’s translating down to the state level. The future is bright.”
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