Every four years, the country’s political parties throw a party in the truest sense of the word: they bring together delegates from across the country to elect their presidential candidate in a days-long spectacle that is part politics, part motivational event.
The Colorado Democratic Party is represented by more than 80 delegates and alternates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, where Vice President Kamala Harris heads the slate of candidates and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is running as her running mate.
These delegates include elected officials and longtime party activists, mixed with local Democrats from across the state who are eager to hear what the fuss is about and who want to play some role, however small, in shaping their party’s course.
When they are not at the official speeches in the evening, they have a full program of events to choose from, ranging from conferences on topics such as climate policy to meetings of interest groups such as the Hispanic Caucus to numerous talks or parties hosted by outside groups.
Each day begins with breakfast at the hotel, as a series of speakers, from Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, gather delegates over plates of bacon and eggs and plenty of coffee.
Jasmin Ramirez of Glenwood Springs, a first-time delegate to the convention, described the meeting as “an opportunity to pinch myself.”
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She raised funds to afford the trip and said she was grateful to her husband and two children for giving her the time to come, especially because school starts the week she is here.
“The reason I applied, of course, was because I wanted to represent the Western Slope and have rural Colorado here. I think that was really important to me,” she explained. “I want to say that rural Colorado wants to be part of the conversation.”
Many delegates went into their elections assuming they would ultimately vote for President Joe Biden. But when they arrived in Chicago, they found the race had changed.
Former Governor Roy Romer has been a delegate on and off since the 1950s. He’s back this year and says he enjoys the job.
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He said that with Biden’s exit from the race, the mood had become more hopeful. But for him, the change is bittersweet.
“There was too much negativity about Biden’s age,” Romer said. “We’ve done away with that and now it’s more about substantive issues. I feel for Biden, I’m 96, so I understand the age issue.”
Ramirez, for her part, said, “Whether it was Biden or Kamala, I was thrilled to be here. Then when the transition happened, I felt like this is much cooler now because it’s such a historic moment.”
The opportunity to make history this fall by electing the first female president also appeals to Reilly Jackson, who at 20 is the youngest delegate from Colorado.
“I think it’s so important for young girls to see themselves in the presidential candidates and in the higher levels of government,” she explained. “There’s a saying my mother always used to say when I was younger. It was: A woman’s place is in the House, the Senate and the Oval Office. And I’m so excited to bring our first woman into the Oval Office.”
She also wanted to run as a representative. She is concerned about the lack of young people’s participation in the party and is afraid that her generation will not vote.
Other delegates were motivated to apply for a seat at the party conference by the insight they gained into politics in general.
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Stephanie Bowman of El Paso County has always seen herself as an organizer and activist, but “I wanted to understand the actual process that makes you a delegate. How does it work, what does it feel like to be here?”
She understands that campaign staff have had to pivot to run a very different campaign, but she thinks Harris is an “exciting candidate. She will be very direct with (Donald) Trump.”
Another first-time delegate, Rosalind Pistilli of Loveland, wanted to learn more about how the party develops its platform, a process that began months ago at the district level before moving to the state level and finally to Chicago, where it was adopted Monday night.
“It was just like, oh, that’s how it happened. It’s not just some guy at a desk writing the platform. There’s so much engagement and so much collaboration and it’s just been wonderful to be a part of and watch,” she said.
Pistilli added that it is important to be part of the political process.
“I grew up going to the conventions and thought it would be a fun way to learn how the party works at the delegate level,” Pistilli said. “And now the election has become so interesting that I’m really grateful to be here and be able to participate in this process and see how democracy works on the inside.”
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