The Democratic National Convention is a gathering this week of Democrats from across the country, including several prominent voices from Alexandria.
Attendees include Sandy Marks, Chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, Rep. Don Beyer (who is a superdelegate), Del. Charniele Herring, Del. Alfonso Lopez and City Council Member Kirk McPike.
Another fun day @DNC convention which included a brief stop at the Coconut club & taking time to do some post card writing for voter outreach to GOTV! Your vote matters! #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/ORpwtUJPbp
— Charniele Herring (@C_Herring) August 20, 2024
Fun encounter at the @DemConvention – Iain Armitage from “Young Sheldon” (who lives in Arlington, Virginia!!) joined the Virginia Delegation last night. We sat together for the speeches from Michelle Obama and President Obama. Incredibly nice young man. pic.twitter.com/fQAsaDsB7J
— Alfonso Lopez (@Lopez4VA) August 21, 2024
McPike said this is his second DNC. McPike is attending as staff for Congressman Mark Takano and McPike’s husband, Jason Kaufman, is volunteering at the Convention.
“The energy and enthusiasm has been off the charts this year, as anyone who watched the first two nights of the Convention — particularly the roll call vote — could plainly see,” McPike said. “Democrats are fired up for the Harris/Walz ticket. I can’t wait to hear from Governor Walz tonight, and Vice President Harris tomorrow.”
What an inspiring Tuesday night @DNC convention. Patti LaBell turned it out! President Obama & Michelle Obama were inspiring. And of course the state roll call was amazing with DJ Cassidy spinning each state’s music choice. #DemocraticConvention pic.twitter.com/oO8L8jMUtb
— Charniele Herring (@C_Herring) August 21, 2024
McPike said the most emotional moments so far was President Joe Biden’s speech on Monday seeing Hillary Clinton speak.
“We first met at a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in 2015 and spent the first year of our relationship volunteering for her presidential campaign,” McPike said. “We love Hillary, and her assessment of Trumps’s danger to America has been proven right over and over again.”
For local politicos, it’s a chance to reconnect with people they’ve campaigned with in the past.
“I have friends across the country from back when I ran campaigns for a living, and so many of them are in Chicago this week,” McPike said. “The convention is more than just a political event setting the stage for victory in November — it’s a giant family reunion and it’s wonderful being here.”
Marks, who is not a voting delegate but is on the DNC’s Standing Platform Committee, said that she hasn’t been getting much sleep.
“The energy is aggressively hopeful and inclusive,” Marks told ALXnow. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
James Cullum contributed to this article
