| | | | |  | | By Brakkton Booker, Krystal Campos, Shia Kapos and Jesse Naranjo | What up, Recast family. Greetings from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Here’s what we have on tap.
- The Georgia delegation puts its stamp on the DNC with a party ft. Lil Jon)
- What the Obamas will say in their convention speeches tonight
- Democratic delegates are refusing to stay at Trump Tower in Chicago
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Attendees dance at an afterparty hosted by the Georgia Democratic Party on Monday evening in Chicago. | Brakkton Booker/POLITICO | CHICAGO — The line began forming at Chicago’s Prysm nightclub just before a quarter to 1 Tuesday morning. Weary-eyed delegates and Democratic Party faithfuls — some arriving on a chartered bus, others in Ubers — descended on the downtown hot spot wearing the same outfits they donned earlier on the convention floor. Many had been networking at strategy breakfasts, power lunches and cocktail hours since 7 a.m., but they had no plans of turning in for the night. Turn down for what? Hip-hop producer Lil Jon was headlining the Democratic Party of Georgia’s “Southern Soul Party,” effectively placing Peach State Democrats at the center of this week’s social scene. For many, the party was yet another symbolic gesture of the passing of the baton that President Joe Biden had long resisted. Conventiongoers received Biden’s Monday night speech with a mix of solace and relief. They’re both emotionally exhausted from the political roller coaster of the last few weeks and exuberantly hopeful that the party can, finally, celebrate just how far it’s come: Vice President Kamala Harris, a woman of color, is now the standard-bearer to take on Republican Donald Trump in the fall. And Georgia’s delegation is ready to lean into their power, with 78 days to go before Election Day: The New York Times wrote that the battleground state, along with several others in the Sun Belt, may be back in play as Harris begins to close Trump’s lead. “We decided … the Democratic Party of Georgia will host a party on the opening night of the convention to set the tone for the week,” Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), the state party’s chair, told The Recast. (WATCH: The full interview with Nikema Williams here.) And set the tone they did. A balloon arch nestled just outside the club doors welcomed guests as they arrived, the colors alternating blush pink and apple green — the colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the historically Black sorority of which Kamala Harris is a member. Inside, patrons were greeted by a photo wall with a backdrop that read “Window to the Walz,” a play on both the lyrics to Lil Jon’s megahit “Get Low” and Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota.
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Spinning from a raised DJ booth, the Atlanta-based artist donned sunglasses and played the bangers from his own catalog, from “Yeah,” to “Shots” and “Snap Yo Fingers.”
Those lucky enough to get a ticket let loose as he blended old school and new school hits, including remixing Frankie Beverly and Maze’s classic “Before I Let Go” with Beyoncé’s version. He jostled between Kirk Franklin’s gospel smash “Stomp” and Journey’s rock anthem “Don’t Stop Believin.’” At one point, Lil Jon exclaimed: “It’s all about Kamala Harris.”
|  Lil Jon spins in the DJ booth. | Brakkton Booker/POLITICO | | For some, it might feel a little jarring to go from a teary-eyed ceremony — where Biden was celebrated for effectively vacating his place as the party leader — to a jovial affair punctuated by the pungent aroma of marijuana on the dance floor. But Williams said she saw little distinction. “Two things can be the same,” she said, pointing to a partying crowd that spanned several generations, from Gen Zers to Baby Boomers, dancing with signs that read “We Love Joe” and “When we fight, we win.” “We can love Joe and still look towards the future, because I'm doing both,” Williams concluded. Michael Owens, the mayor of Mableton, a recently incorporated city that’s located just outside of Atlanta, was ecstatic the “Southern Soul Party” delivered on the hype of being the most coveted afterparty of the convention thus far. (Recast readers: We’ll note that it was only Day One, but speaking from personal experience, it's hard to see how it could be topped.) So was the party vindication for Atlanta being passed over for Chicago to host the DNC? “It's not a ‘what could have been’; it’s a ‘what’s to come,’” Owens said, adding that the party is evidence that Georgia is a priority for Democrats in the fall. Four years ago, Biden became the first president in nearly 30 years to flip what had been a reliably red state back to Democratic control. And in the process, he helped elect the state’s first Jewish and first Black senators in Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. But before he stepped aside, the president was trailing Trump by 10 percentage points in Georgia, according to a New York Times/ Siena College poll taken in May. Now, the latest NYT/Siena poll shows key movement, with Harris closing the gap by 6 points.
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Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams said her state party's event was intended to "set the tone for the week.” | Brakkton Booker/POLITICO | Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye, the executive director of the Georgia Democratic Party, said the state’s races are always close; this year is no different. “Georgians are not paying attention” to the recent poll numbers, he told The Recast. “We know that battleground Georgia is going to come down to the wire, and we also know that if we have the resources and the investment, that we can win,” he said. Georgia’s tight elections are what prompted Nura Williams (no relation to the congresswoman), a first-time delegate, to move from Chicago three years ago and resettle in Atlanta. “When Georgia flipped blue, I was like, bet, I'm gonna move to Atlanta,” she told The Recast at the party, as music blasted over loudspeakers. “Moving to Georgia is the first time I feel like I truly have a voice.” She voted for Warnock’s reelection in 2022. Erika Bailey, a delegate from Cobb County, flagged the importance of Lil Jon coming to Chicago for the first night of the convention on behalf of the Georgia delegation. “The South's got something to say, and [Lil Jon’s] gonna say it for us tonight,” she told The Recast as she entered the club. “Georgia is on the road to the presidency, and so we're here to make statements.” Now, on to Day Two. All the best,
The Recast Team
| | | WHAT THE OBAMAS WILL SAY TONIGHT
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Former President Barack Obama speaks in Athens, Greece, June 21, 2023. | Petros Giannakouris/AP | The theme for the second night of the Democratic National Convention is “A Bold Vision for America’s Future," and it will be headlined by two history-makers who took the national stage 16 years ago. In their DNC speeches tonight, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are expected to affirm why Harris-Walz is the right ticket for this unique moment in American politics, according to a source familiar with Democrats’ convention planning. The former president will lay out a vision for how the campaign, over the closing weeks, should elevate the values that are at stake and the importance of Democratic unity. Michelle Obama will make the case that Harris is not only ready to lead the country to the future, but “turn the page on fear and division,” the person added.
| | | DEMOCRATS SHUN TRUMP TOWER
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Pedestrians pass the Trump International Hotel and Tower on May 30 in Chicago. | Erin Hooley/AP | The nearly 5,000 delegates who are visiting Chicago this week are staying in eight hotels in the city’s downtown. Our Shia Kapos has the full list of which delegations are crashing where. Convention organizers contracted with about 40 hotels to accommodate all of the state parties’ entourages — with one exception: the Trump International Hotel and Tower. For the obvious reason. But also because it’s a non-union hotel, which was the Democratic Party’s requirement when booking rooms and picking a convention town overall. “Our party stands for unity, hope, and freedom — values that stand in fundamental opposition with everything the Trump name and brand represent,” said Emily Soong, a spokesperson for the convention. The Illinois delegation chose to stay at the Royal Sonesta Chicago Hotel, which looks right at the Chicago River ... and is directly across from the Trump hotel. The Illinois Democrats decided they would “take it on the chin” so that other delegations wouldn’t have to look out their windows to see the giant “TRUMP” sign, one Democratic insider tells Shia. But that also gives them a clear view of the trolling messages Democrats projected onto the building. Last night, our colleague Adam Wren spotted “PROJECT 2025 HQ” being beamed in bright neon-blue letters, right above that TRUMP sign.
| | | IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON THE PUERTO RICO BILL: Our Gloria Gonzalez writes in that the Democratic platform now explicitly backs the Puerto Rico Status Bill, which would establish a federal-sponsored referendum allowing Puerto Ricans to choose from statehood, independence or free association with the U.S. (We wrote last week how this may be a play for Boricua voters on the mainland.) But advocacy group Power4PuertoRico writes in a letter sent to the Harris-Walz campaign Friday that the bill remains silent on fundamental questions, including federal taxation for territory residents and whether they can keep speaking Spanish as their primary language. Several leaders, including some state and federal Puerto Rican lawmakers, brought this message to Chicago, speaking this morning from the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. They want the DNC to call for self-determination, rather than continue to support the status bill. And more:
- Steve Kerr sees a connection between the Olympics and the Harris campaign. (POLITICO’s Calder McHugh)
- Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), a rising star in the party, brings an alliterative attack on Trump in her DNC speech. (POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu)
- Hillary Clinton couldn't break that glass ceiling. She says Harris will. (POLITICO’s Myah Ward)
| | | WE'LL LEAVE YOU WITH SOME PERSONAL NEWS Happy belated birthday to our Jesse Naranjo (Sunday, Aug. 18) and early birthday to our Rishika Dugyala (Thursday, Aug. 22). Arguably more important than that Chicago convention (definitely not). Edited by Rishika Dugyala, Kay Steiger and Teresa Wiltz | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
