DNC in Chicago gives Kamala Harris, Tim Walz showcase for their ideas

WASHINGTON — As Democrats introduce their new presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Tim Walz, this week, they also will have to address several thorny issues: the economy, immigration, diverse voting bases and their stance on Israel.

The four-day Democratic National Convention beginning Monday at Chicago’s United Center will seek to bolster Harris’ stature as she emerges from President Joe Biden’s shadow as his vice president. Democrats will also flesh out the profile of Walz, the folksy Minnesota governor.

The new Harris-Walz ticket has reversed Democratic concerns about sinking poll numbers that set in under the 81-year-old Biden before he stepped aside a month ago. But it faces potential pitfalls in the next 2½ months, during a historically short runway to the Nov. 5 election.

"There are existential threats to the [Harris] candidacy that remain in place for all the excitement and energy," said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies and a veteran political analyst.

"And they're going to need to address these in a way that doesn't alienate swaths of their base and appeals to the moderate swing voters who are going to ultimately decide who wins," he told Newsday.

Here are five things to watch during the convention.

Top issue: the economy

The economy ranks as the presidential race's top issue, according to August surveys conducted nationally by the Emerson Poll and by the Siena Poll for The New York Times in key swing states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Millions of convention viewers will be watching to see how Harris and Democrats address economic issues to persuade swing-state working-class and suburban voters that they have a plan for a stronger economy.

"They need to begin closing the gap between the perception and reality of the economy," Levy said.

Meena Bose, director of Hofstra University’s Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American presidency, said, "Former President Donald Trump is using the 2016 slogan again — ‘Make America Great Again’ — and saying the last four years are terrible and I will make it better.

"There are responses to that," she said, "and the Harris-Walz campaign needs a very positive, muscular message."

A win on immigration?

Republicans have tried to make immigration a "no-win issue" for Democrats since Biden’s reversal of many of Trump’s restrictive policies and the influx of migrants into the United States, said Republican political consultant Michael Dawidziak, of Bayport.

Democrats will argue that they backed a tough bipartisan Senate deal, only for Trump and Republicans to reject it and keep immigration alive as a campaign issue, and that Biden’s recent tightening of the Southwest border led to a 50% drop in Border Patrol encounters with migrants.

But Democrats must decide how to address the issues that have dogged them in the past year while reassuring their allies among pro-immigration advocates.

Democrats likely will highlight policies promoted by Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who tackled the immigration issue head on in his special election victory in February and his continuing efforts to urge a tighter border and humane treatment for migrants.

"The more moderates you can get to speak on immigration, the better it will be for Democrats," Dawidziak said.

Base and swing

Democrats face the challenge of boosting the turnout of their base while increasing support among swing-state working class and suburban white voters.

Harris has generated excitement among Democrats as the first Black and Asian woman to run for president on a major party’s ticket. But an aggregation of 21 polls by analysts at the Cook Report found she's drawing less support than Biden did in his successful 2020 campaign with Black, Hispanic, white non-college and young voters.

Cook found Biden had the support of 90% of Black voters then, for example, while this year Harris has the support of 75%.

State Assemb. Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) said she will be watching for convention speakers "emphasizing party unity and diversity" while also laying out "strategies for reaching crucial voter groups, including youth, undecided voters and independents."

Attuned to Israel, Palestine

A small group of uncommitted Democratic delegates could make Israel a contentious issue inside the convention as pro-Palestinian protesters march outside.

Those delegates, including 11 from Walz’s home state of Minnesota, are demanding a private meeting with Harris, an arms embargo on Israel and a change to the Democratic platform to move U.S. foreign policy away from Israel, according to news reports.

They plan to make their presence felt through news conferences, candlelight vigils and literature tables. They also have pushed for a prominent speaking slot for Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor who has volunteered in Gaza.

The Biden administration’s support for Israel’s military offensive could push young voters away from supporting Harris and Walz, said Andrew Englehardt, a Stony Brook University political science professor.

In a spring class, Englehardt had students discuss how high-profile current events would play in the campaign.

"The students were much more attuned to Israel and Palestine than other issues that I thought might be more salient, like immigration," he said.

"There's a tension here, right?" he said. "Because it is not just the general uncommitted movement and a concern over Palestinians, but you also have a huge age gap."

Protests outside

Which of the last two Democratic conventions in Chicago will this year’s gathering most resemble: The contentious one in 1968 or the smooth-running one in 1996?

March organizers said they expect as many as 25,000 people to gather near the United Center during the convention to protest U.S. support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.

The coalition of pro-Palestinian and left-leaning groups called the March on the DNC said there will be two marches — one at midday on Monday and the other in the late afternoon on Thursday, the two days when viewers pay the most attention to national political conventions.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said he will not tolerate rioting: "I’m not going to wait until it gets out of control and then try to bring it back in. The moment it starts, you put an end to it quickly."

Given that potential clash on the streets, University of Virginia politics Professor Larry Sabato asked, "Has Chicago learned anything since 1968?"

That year, a commission labeled a Chicago police crackdown on anti-Vietnam war protesters outside the Democratic convention as a "police riot" — and Democratic Vice President Hubert Humphrey lost the presidential election to Republican Richard Nixon.

This year, Democrats hope the protests do not get out of hand.

"If they have a repeat of 1968 — where that means absolutely out of control in the streets on this issue — it will be very bad for them," said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York Democratic political consultant.