Every four years, the nation’s political parties throw themselves a literal party, bringing in delegates from around the country to select their presidential candidate in a days-long extravaganza that’s part policy and part pep rally.
Colorado’s Democratic Party has more than 80 delegates and alternates in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention this week, where Vice President Kamala Harris tops the ticket with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz running as her vice president.
Those delegates include elected officials and long-time party activists, mixed together with local Democrats from around the state, eager to see what the fuss is about and to have a role, however small, in shaping the course of their party.
When they’re not at the official speeches in the evening, they have a packed schedule of events to choose from, ranging from meetings on topics like climate policy to gatherings of affinity groups like the Hispanic Caucus to the numerous talks or parties hosted by outside groups.
Each day starts with breakfast at the hotel, as a roster of speakers, from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to former US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, rally the delegates over plates of bacon and eggs and lots of coffee.
Walking in on Monday morning, first-time delegate Jasmin Ramirez of Glenwood Springs described the convention as “a pinch-me opportunity.”
She fundraised to be able to afford the trip and said she’s grateful to her husband and two kids for giving her the time to come, especially with school starting the week she’s here.
“The reason I applied, obviously, was for me representing the Western Slope (and) for being able to have rural Colorado here. I think that was really what felt important to me,” she explained. “I want to say that rural Colorado wants to be part of the conversation.”
Many delegates ran for the slots assuming they’d eventually cast their votes for President Joe Biden to be the nominee. But they’ve arrived in Chicago to a changed race.
Former Gov. Roy Romer has been a delegate off and on starting in the 1950s. Back again this year, he said he enjoys the process.
He said with Biden out of the race the atmosphere has changed to a more hopeful one. But the switch is bittersweet for him.
“There was too much negativity about Biden's age,” said Romer. “We got rid of that and now it's on more issue-oriented issues. I feel for Biden, I'm 96, so I understand the problem of age.”
For her part, Ramirez said, “Whether it was Biden or Kamala, I was excited to be here. When the switch did happen, I did feel like that is so much cooler now because it’s such a historic moment.”
The possibility of making history by electing the first woman president this fall also appeals to Reilly Jackson, who at 20 is the youngest delegate from Colorado.
“I think that it's so important for young girls to see themselves in presidential nominees and to see themselves in these higher levels of government,” she explained. “There's a saying my mom used to say when I was younger. It was: a woman's place is in the House, the Senate, and in the Oval Office. And I am thrilled to put our first woman into the Oval Office.”
She also wanted to come to represent. She’s worried about a lack of involvement of young people in the party and afraid that her generation won’t come out to vote.
For other delegates, it was getting an inside view of politics in general that motivated them to try for a convention slot.
Stephanie Bowman from El Paso County has always considered herself an organizer-activist, but “I wanted to understand the actual process of becoming a delegate. How does it work, what does it feel like to be here?”
She feels for the campaign staffers who have had to pivot to run a whole different race, but she thinks Harris is an “exciting candidate. She will be very direct to [Donald] Trump.”
Another first-time delegate, Rosalind Pistilli of Loveland, wanted to learn more about how the party develops its platform, a process that started months ago at the county level before moving to the state level and finally to Chicago, where it was approved Monday night.
“Which was just like, oh, this is how this happened. It's not just some dude at a desk writing the platform. There's so much involvement and so much collaboration and it's just been wonderful to be part of that and watch it,” she said.
Pistilli added it’s important to be part of the political process.
“I grew up watching the conventions and so I thought it would be a fun way to learn how the party works at the delegate level,” Pistilli said. “And now the election has gotten so interesting that I’m really grateful that I’m here and able to participate in this process and see how democracy works on the inside.”
