DFW had strong representation at the Democratuc National Convention
Delegates say the powerful four-night show laid out a plan to win in November
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention who had attended previous conventions described this year’s gathering as joyous, saying it reflected what has quickly become the theme of the Harris/Walz campaign.
Ratings for the Democratic Convention were higher than for the Republican gathering the month before — 21.8 million viewers per night for the Dems compared to 19.1 million for the Republicans. But that’s not necessarily an indication of who will win in November.
In the 16 presidential elections since 1960, the party with the higher TV ratings for their convention won eight times and lost eight times.
DNC delegates from North Texas credit the higher ratings to the fact that the Democrats put on a more interesting show. The Democrats had Oprah and Stevie Wonder, the Clintons and Obamas, not to mention plenty of viewer anticipation: Would Beyonce or Taylor Swift show up and endorse Kamala Harris? (They didn’t.)
Texas state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez, who attended the Chicago convention as a delegate for the first time, said, “My favorite part was that Texas had our own hotel — being around
Texas Democrats, meeting other people who were on the ground, sharing ideas [on] how we’re going to move forward and win this November.”
Gonzalez said she thinks Harris will win and, with the Democratic nominee continuing to build momentum, she even has a chance to win in usually-solid-red Texas.
Rather than name one speech over another as her favorite, Gonzalez said she appreciated themes that ran through the convention. Democrats reclaimed patriotism, she said, and claimed family values as Democratic Party values.
But her favorite convention surprise? She didn’t know Oprah was scheduled to speak.
“But the personal stories about gun violence — even the sign interpreter was tearing up,” Gonzalez said, adding that the Democrats’ convention was about more than just the party nominating its candidate. “We discussed things that are important, that people need to be talking about.”
She said she enjoyed the energetic roll call of states and noted that state Rep. Julie Johnson, who is running for Congress this November, was front and center on the screen as Eva Longoria and Cecile Richards gave the Texas pitch.
It was the Harris acceptance speech that stole the show, as far as Gonzalez was concerned, but the Texas lawmaker also quoted Michelle Obama, who said, “This is not the time to sit on your hands. It’s time to do something.”
Gonzalez is running unopposed for re-election, and she pledged she’d use some of her campaign time and funds on voter registration efforts.
Gonzalez credited Jeff Strater with “making sure our community was well represented” at the DNC. Of Texas’ 273 delegates to the convention, about 70 of them identified as LGBTQ. By percentage, that was probably the largest in the country, and in actual number of out delegates, Texas may have beaten California and New York.
“Our community was well represented across the country,” Gonzalez said, and all week there were LGBTQ receptions “all over the place — back to back.”
Strater attended the convention as a Dallas-area delegate, and on Friday, Aug. 23, after the convention concluded, he was formally elected as a Democratic National Committee member.
“The presence of LGBTQ elected officials is huge now,” Strater said. “To see the sheer amount was remarkable.”
He said he was also happy to see how many delegates were under the age of 30.
He described the protests outside the convention as odd. Comparatively few protesters showed up, he said, and all the groups were protesting together in the same spot. “So the
God-Hates-Fags people were together with the Rights-For-Gaza folks,” he said.
In describing his convention experience, Strater said the event was about far more than just celebrity speeches from the podium. His week involved long days that started at 7 a.m. with a Texas delegation breakfast, noting that Texas’ congressional hopeful Julie Johnson was among the speakers there.
Alliance groups such as the LGBTQ Victory Fund and the Human Rights Campaign offered programs and workshops for attendees. Strater said there was a 60 percent increase in LGBTQ programming compared to the previous convention.
Among his favorite speakers was Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a lesbian who challenged any repeal of LGBTQ rights with the declaration that marriage equality opponents would have to “pry this wedding ring off my cold, dead, gay hand.”
Strater said Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker, who spoke in prime time from the podium, was warmly received and is beloved by the LGBTQ community in Illinois. The line in his speech that got the largest round of applause was a subtle dig at Trump, with Pritzker referring to himself as an actual billionaire. (The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt hotel chain.)
Strater said it was great to see Hillary Clinton, and “Tim Walz was absolutely delightful.”
As for any controversy about Walz’s 17-year-old son in tears listening to his dad’s acceptance speech “I was in tears, too,” Strater sid.
Speaking from the Texas section of the convention floor in a brief video shot by Angela Hale for Dallas Voice, Johnson sent greetings to constituents and said her election depends on “the gay community coming out, being at the polls, making your voices heard and demanding our equality. I’ll see you Nov. 5 on Election Day, and we’re going to win.”
In another video from the convention floor by Hale, Texas state Rep. Venton Jones said, “We’ve got to make sure we’re knocking on doors, talking to voters and telling them what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are doing to protect the middle class, to serve our economy and continue leading not just for some Americans but for all Americans.”
While all the DFW-area delegates agreed the convention was exciting and energizing, they also agreed that Democrats have two months of very hard work ahead if they hope to see the promise of the convention made fact on Election Day.