By Danielle Blyn, special to the City Paper | Seventy South Carolina delegates to the Democratic National Convention this week in Chicago are uniting for what promises to be one of the more interesting conventions in recent history.
Delegates are expected to officially nominate Vice President Kamala Harris, recently tapped to be the party’s nominee after President Joe Biden bowed out, as its presidential candidate. They also are expected to back Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
“It’s a good opportunity to see what messaging is working in other parts of the country because South Carolina isn’t a swing state for Democrats so we tend to not be as engaged in August as some other states might be,” said Colleen Condon, a family law attorney from Charleston who is the state party’s first vice-chair. “It’s a good chance to hear what’s going on, to understand it better, to be able to have good messaging.”
Before Harris gives an acceptance speech Thursday night, there are three full days of caucuses, concerts and convention fun. For some delegates, this is a chance to meet with other political activists from South Carolina and the nation to share ideas and hopes for the future. For others, it’s a chance to meet with delegates from across the country and learn new techniques for implementing change.
Charleston’s Kaye Koonce, who served two terms as a S.C. Democratic Party officer is attending her eighth convention. But one of the state’s youngest delegates is Annika Krovi, a 17-year-old from Greenville. She is excited to be attending her first convention.
“I think every delegation brings something special,” Krovi said. “I obviously think South Carolina is the best delegation coming to the DNC, but it’s really exciting to know that there are a lot of young people who are running for office, even folks who aren’t necessarily young, but are running for office in previously Republican or red areas,”
Learning more about the party
The convention also allows people from the 50 states to learn more about what the Democratic Party is offering and stands for. Koonce, who has been working in voter protection for four decades, says it’s important for people to learn more about the party.
“I hope that those folks who are not staunch Democrats, but are open-minded will look and see that the policies and the belief system of Democrats more closely matches their own policies or what they want for policies and their system of beliefs and freedom for everybody in and being able to have choice,” she said.
While many people across the country will experience the convention through its nightly televised broadcasts, its daytime programming is not mentioned as often. Plenty of meetings go on during the days, including caucuses, training sessions, and meetings with advocacy groups. This is a key focus of excitement for Clay Middleton, a former Charleston mayoral candidate who is currently serving as senior advisor to Orangeburg native Jaime Harrison, chairman for the DNC.
“I think people are going to be very enthusiastic about the diverse and inclusive talent that will be speaking and performing during the convention,” Middleton said in an interview. “Things people would not see, the daytime programming that’s going to take place with our ally groups across the country, the community service projects that we started this week, engagement of every ward in Chicago, and the diverse spending that has taken place, uh, throughout this entire process.”
A big deal for South Carolina
A big source of pride for South Carolina this year is the DNC’s Harrison. South Carolina’s delegates say they are excited and proud of the hard work he has put in over the last four years, especially given a last-minute change to the ticket.
“That certainly is a big deal for any state,” said Brady Quirk-Garvan, a delegate from Charleston. “We’re very proud of the work that Jaime’s doing, and we’ll know that he will be the chairman that elects our, our first female president in American history. That’s a pretty cool thing for South Carolina.”
While the convention is mainly about meeting with other Democrats and nominating Harris and Walz officially, there is also plenty of fun to be had as delegates are excited by rumors of big-name musicians who may perform.
“I mean the whole experience of course, like so many fun sort of like quirks about convention, like the pin trading and the people you get to meet and all of that,” said Greenville’s Krovi.
The convention officially kicks off Monday morning and will end Thursday evening with the official nomination of Harris and Walz for the Democratic ticket. Learn more online here.
Danielle Blyn, a junior political science and journalism student at Syracuse University, will be reporting from Chicago during the convention for the Charleston City Paper. She is covering the DNC as part of a program with Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Born and raised in southern California, she says she hopes to move to Washington, D.C., to pursue a career covering the White House.
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