Editor’s Note: Special correspondent Danielle Blyn is providing updated coverage throughout the week from the Democratic National Convention.
CHICAGO, Tuesday afternoon | South Carolina’s 65 delegates to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday officially cast their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party’s candidate for president as aplaylist of DJ Cassidy boomed in the background.
S.C. Democratic Party Christale Spain strongly introduced the Palmetto State to the convention as the “the home of DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, the home of the first Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, the home of the national basketball champions, the Mighty Lady Gamecocks.”
S.C. Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, praised the work that S.C. Democrats have done, including temporarily stopping a total abortion ban proposed in the state.
“South Carolina is not going back,” Matthews said. “We’re going forward. Forward on reproductive rights, we’re going forward on voting rights, we’re going forward against hate crimes, forward with a prosecutor and not a crook.”
Clyburn praises Biden
Also Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., highlighted comparisons in the nation’s 1876 presidential election and today’s Heritage Foundation to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.
“I know the history of the Heritage Foundation,” Clyburn said. “I know the history very well. What they were trying to do is implement an autocracy. That’s what this is. So anybody that wants to know what’s going on today, google ‘President’s Election, 1876,’ and take a look at what happened.”
Clyburn had nothing but praise for President Joe Biden.
“He may not get as long a presidency as he set out, but he will have in history one of the most productive presidencies ever,” Clyburn said. “He’d be right up there with Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and I think he’ll be in the top three when it comes to production.”
He continued his praise for Biden for his record of working to improve life for African Americans, explaining it as the reason the Congressional Black Caucus backed Biden until he dropped out of the running.
“I don’t know why anybody would look at Joe Biden’s record as president, and not be impressed by it if you’re African American,” Clyburn said. “If you’re anti-African American, you might have a problem.”
S.C. delegates encounter political stars
From Monday night’s whooping and hollering at the Democratic National Convention to today’s slow wandering into breakfast, South Carolina’s delegates are energized and ready for another day of politics.
Spain checked in with the delegates at breakfast to get the party pumped up for the jam packed day ahead.
“Keep going. We got a lot of work to do today,” she said. “We got a lot of speakers. I hope that you all are still excited.”
To which the delegation responded enthusiastically, “Oh yeahs!”
That followed the the high Monday night speech of U.S. Rep. as he officially nominated Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be the party’s vice presidential candidate.
The breakfast,featuring eggs, plenty of fruit, juices of all kinds and enough coffee to last all day, marked the start of the second day of the convention. It was bookended this morning by speeches from Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Grethcen Whitmer, focusing on praising South Carolina for its work during the election cycle.
“One thing I really admire about South Carolina Democrats that I saw for myself when I was on the ground with you all is that you will never be caught treating the presidency like it’s the only office that matters,” Buttigieg said.
The speeches, which were vibrant and quick, shared a story of the delegates and their focuses for this convention. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., threw out cat jokes while telling a story about Vice President Kamala Harris’s leadership and dissing GOP colleague J.D. Vance of Ohio in the same breath. Booker focused on the role that South Carolina plays in elections, especially in voting and campaigning.
“As much as we talk about the top of the ticket, this democracy was built from the grass roots up,” Booker said. “Because in America, the power of the people is greater than the people in power.”
From beaches to policy
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro praised South Carolina beaches today, thanking them for his current tan, before jumping into attacking the Trump presidency and acknowledging the role South Carolina plays in elections.
“I know you understand the burden of responsibility to protect our democracy,” Shapiro said. “South Carolina is a place that picks presidents. South Carolina is a place that takes its responsibility seriously when it comes to governing this nation.”
Michigan Gov. Grethcen Whitmer echoed those thoughts. Dressed in a hot pink jacket and blue romper, she urged the delegation to continue to convince people to read into the Democratic agenda.
“Put on your Chucks, hit the doors, register voters, eat a damn vegetable on occasion, please,” Whitmer said. “Take care of yourselves in the process, and know that this state, every vote matters. It matters from the local races all the way to the top of the ticket. We’ve got to show up and show out and make a space at the table for people who are just trying to get through their day.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock from Georgia shared stories about staying strong while continuing to climb in the political ranks, quoting from the Declaration of Independence, where it states that all men are created equal. Warnock ended his speech with a slight dig at the state, speaking on their fruit production.
“Your peaches are almost as good as Georgia’s,” Warnock said. “I know about peaches. I know about boiled peanuts.”
Walzing the youth
Delegates’ days are neverending. From breakfasts at 7 a.m. to speeches that go on until 11 p.m. it really does seem as though they are always awake and staying constantly stimulated. That was true Tuesday during the Youth Council meeting today at McCormick Place in Chicago.
The room was mostly filled, and unlike a lot of other convention events , the majority was people in the 18-29 age demographic, or what they label as “young.”
Members of Young Democrats, College Democrats, High School Democrats of America and more were united together to hear from younger elected officials such as Justin Pearson, a Tennessee state representative who was expelled in April 2023 and later reinstated.
Annika Krovi, the national chair of the High School Democrats of America, is 17-year-old and a delegate from Greenville. She was also stepping in as vice chair of the council, and introduced herself as a proud delegate of South Carolina.
Krovi asked how many people in the room were voting in their first presidential election. The answer: over two dozen in a ballroom of close to 100 people.
Walz
And the council had a surprise guest: the high school coach himself, Minnesota Gov. and vice presidential running mate Tim Walz.
Walz spoke about the issues that young people are currently facing: increasing prices for secondary education, climate change, free lunches at school and the responsibilities that adults have to change things for the next generation.
“This is the fight of a lifetime,” Walz said. “This is a privilege to be in this fight. It’s a pain in the butt to have to do some of this. It’s a lot of extra work. But it’s a privilege.
“Look, this thing’s going to be close, it is gonna be closer than it should be. It’s going to be won in the trenches, and it’s gonna be won by your demographic for the most part.”
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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