CHICAGO — Darnell Williams might be one of the most experienced convention goers at the Democratic National Convention this week, with seven under his belt.
The Massachusetts delegate, who works with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, first attended a Democratic convention in 1980 when he supported Sen. Ted Kennedy, the intra-party challenger to incumbent President Jimmy Carter, who would win the Democratic nomination but ultimately lose to Republican Ronald Regan.
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Forty-four years later, this Democratic convention is unlike any in modern history given the compressed timeline for Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris to campaign following President Joe Biden dropping out of the race in July — a move that Williams calls a “profile in courage” that created an “earthquake” and “a restoration of focus” for Democrats.
Williams said the convention in Chicago — with today marking the final day — “has to really edge out to be number one.”
That includes the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, with then-Sen. Barack Obama accepting his party’s presidential nomination before a capacity crowd inside a 76,000-seat outdoor football stadium.
“There's been such a drastic shift in attitude and expectation, happiness and restoring democracy, restoring freedom. We are galvanized in order to be the boots on the ground, in order to transfer that message back to and across America,” Williams said. “That's a little different than where we were at before. The other ones were maybe more mechanical, methodical, but this is more, this is personal.”
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Carl Donovan, a delegate from Great Falls, Mont., attended his first convention in 1976 when Carter first won the Democratic nomination and would go on to serve one term as president. He agreed with Williams that this year has been the best — even for logistical reasons.
“This is probably the greatest speeches, and everything is orchestrated very, very well at this one,” Donovan said. “I’m excited to hear what Kamala says, but I'm very excited about Gov. Walz because he is like us living in Montana. We help our neighbors, and he's just like one of us.”
Alabama delegates Carolyn Culpepper, Merika Coleman and Sherry McClain have attended three conventions together as a group.
The energy is different this year in Chicago, said Culpepper, a retired lieutenant colonel.
“Oh wow, it’s higher than Obama,” Culpepper said of Obama’s 2008 nomination.
Coleman, an Alabama state senator, agreed that the Harris nomination will be just as historic as Obama’s nomination — if not more, particularly if she becomes the first woman to serve as president of the United States.
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“He was the first African American, but right now, we're talking about saving our country, and it's amazing the coalition of people that are coming together to save the country,” Coleman said. “It's just absolutely amazing the energy behind this candidacy. Coach Walz yesterday, he gave us our pep talk. Today, she's gonna bring it all the way home.”
Jackie Nophlin, a Virginia delegate, traveled to Los Angeles for the 2000 Democratic convention that nominated then-Vice President Al Gore.
“The excitement there, it was immaculate,” Nophlin said. “I couldn't put it into words, but this, 24 years later, it's remarkable.”
If Biden had stayed in the race? Nophlin said she didn't think her “heart would have been in it as much.”
“The energy is different. It's a refreshing, youthful type,” Nophlin said. “It is electrifying, and the people mean it, and you feel the togetherness and the helpfulness and the love that was not there until now.”
This is the first convention for Brandon Williford, a Wisconsin delegate, who was thrilled to see Obama speak on Tuesday.
“He was a big inspiration for me. When he got elected. I was just 10 years old, and he inspired me to run for office myself,” said Williford, who lost a race for State Assembly District 12 but is going to “keep on trying.”
Some of the youngest attendees here in Chicago were brought by their parents to experience the energy as well.
“It’s an opportunity for him at this age to experience this historic movement. I want him to be around everybody, feel the spirit and something to remember,” said Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, a New York delegate and chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, who brought her 22-month-old son, Daniel. “I think he might remember this.”
Mary Wyatt from New York came with her 14-month-old daughter, Wyatt.
“If Kamala is elected, when she learns what the concept of what a president is, it'll be a woman, and it's not even like a question,” she said.
