Past presidents, political props and a dance party: Takeaways from Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention

CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention's second night highlighted the party's past presidents, particularly Chicago's own Barack Obama. The Democrats also went all-in on promoting cross-party appeal, featuring a former Donald Trump spokeswoman and a Republican mayor from the battleground state of Arizona.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ducked out of Chicago to hold a rally just up the interstate in Milwaukee, wooing voters in swing state Wisconsin. It's a recognition that, regardless of whatever good vibes may exist at the convention, Democrats expect this presidential election to be razor-close.

Here are some takeaways from the convention's second night.

The ex-presidents club

If the Republican convention was all about Trump, the Democrats on Tuesday wanted to put Harris in a pantheon with past presidents. It wasn’t just Obama who was to make the case for the vice president. The convention turned to the grandsons of Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy to also portray her as the natural heir of past Democratic leaders.

As groundbreaking as Harris' candidacy is as the first woman of color to be her party’s nominee, these speeches by an ex-president and presidential progeny were all about linking her to a broader historical arc, creating a nostalgic message that can animate an increasingly older electorate.

“Kamala Harris carries my grandfather’s legacy,” said Jason Carter, the grandson of the 39th president. “She knows what is right and she fights for it.”

Jack Schlossberg suggested that Harris would carry forward the agenda of Kennedy.

"She believes in America like my grandfather did," Schlossberg said. “That we do things not because they’re easy, but because they’re hard.”

DNC dance party

Political conventions technically happen so that delegates can nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates.

This year, the Democrats took care of that job in advance. But that didn't stop them from holding a ceremonial do-over and turning it into a raucous dance party.

DJ Cassidy strode on stage in a bright blue double-breasted suit and spun tunes for every state as they nominated Harris and Walz. Minnesota got “1999” by native son Prince, Kansas got “Carry on Wayward Son” by, well, Kansas. “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen played as New Jersey weighed in.

Usually it was governors or state party chairs calling out the votes, but some states passed the mic to make serious points. Kate Cox, who unsuccessfully sued her home state of Texas while seeking an abortion for a non-viable fetus, announced Texas’ votes. A survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas strip gun massacre announced Nevada’s votes.

The roll call highlight was when Atlanta rapper Lil Jon strode through the United Center to the beats of “Turn Down for What,” his song with DJ Snake, and rapped his support for Harris and Walz.

Democrats are eager to highlight how Harris’ ascension has energized the party. The roll call fit that vibe.

Harris and Walz take a detour to battleground Milwaukee

Harris and Walz ditched Chicago for the night to hold a primetime rally in Milwaukee that packed the same arena that had hosted the Republican National Convention just last month.

Their appearance served as a second-stage power boost to the main event in Chicago, and Harris was beamed in to the main hall to thank delegates for their roll call.

In her Wisconsin remarks, Harris stressed repeatedly that the election will be close.

“We know this is gonna be a tight race to the very end,” she said. “We have some hard work ahead of us. … We like hard work; hard work is good work.”

She scoffed when someone in the crowd seemed to call out that she’d already won.

A message for Republicans: It’s OK to Quit Trump

The Democrats are making a play for disaffected Trump voters — and they used one of his former White House staffers to make their case.

Stephanie Grisham worked in various roles in the Trump White House, including communications director and press secretary, allowing Democrats to argue that those who know Trump best have seen him at his worst.

“He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth,” Grisham said. “I couldn’t be part of the insanity any longer."

Kyle Sweetser, a Trump voter from Alabama, told the convention the former president’s tariffs made life harder for construction workers like him. Republican Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, also was to speak on Tuesday about why he’s backing Harris. Giles sees Trump’s policies as hurting cities like his.

A weighty prop to drive home the Democrats' message on Project 2025

Each day of the DNC is to feature a speaker brandishing an oversized tome designed to represent the Project 2025 policy book from the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Project 2025 is on one hand a very typical Washington effort, uniting a bunch of wonks and activists to map out a potential agenda for the next president. In this case, the authors include many officials who served in Trump’s administration and remain close to the candidate. Its organizers say they’ve gotten dozens of conservative groups to sign on to the push, making it far more meaningful than the average collection of policy papers.

Democrats use Project 2025 as shorthand for their warnings about what might transpire in a second Trump term, particularly potential revisions to civil service rules to ensure more of the federal workforce is loyal to the president. But it’s also got page after page of other proposals, grist for attacks from the convention podium.

On Tuesday, it was Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta’s turn to wave the big book. “It is a radical plan to drag us backwards,” he declared.

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters didn’t wield the prop, but name-checked the initiative.

And Harris chimed in from Milwaukee, telling the rally crowd, “Can you believe they put that thing in writing?”