JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi has 45 delegates in Chicago participating in the Democratic National Convention.
They say they’re all in for Kamala Harris, and many mentioned they were surprised to see her take the stage to kick off the convention.
“It was electrifying when she came out and thanked President Joe Biden for his service, the crowd erupted,” said Rep. Kabir Karreim. “I have not seen this kind of energy since President Obama’s first run. If we can bottle it up and bring it back to Mississippi, that’s what we intend to do.”
Although the delegation initially had plans to pledge all their votes for Joe Biden, they expect the energy around Kamala Harris being on the ticket to help with their get-out-to-vote efforts.
“We are going to use this moment to turn Mississippi blue,” noted Sen. Derrick Simmons.
“This is the campaign that has energy, that has momentum,” said Sen. David Blount. “We are the optimistic party. We’re the party that believes that America’s best days are ahead. We are the disciplined party with self-control, with organization.”
While the focus is on Kamala Harris, the delegates are just as excited about her VP pick.
“Tim Walz brings an authenticity and an ability to speak a language to the ticket that I think is going to very much increase their popularity, not only in Mississippi and across Mississippi, but across the entire south and the Midwest,” noted Lawrence Blackmon.
There’s another Mississippi connection. Harris is set to officially accept the party’s nomination 60 years to the day that Fannie Lou Hamer challenged the DNC. She unsuccessfully demanded in 1964 that she and a group of Black delegates from Mississippi be seated instead of the state’s all-white delegation.
“I think it’s very special for us to look back 60 years ago and see what it was that Fannie Lou Hamer was fighting for, and then look at us today, how far we’ve come as a nation, as a party, as a people,” added Blackmon. “I think that Vice President Harris being at the top of this ticket is the realization of Fannie Lou Hamer’s dream.”
While they say they’re having fun in Chicago, they know the seriousness of the election and are ready to work when they return to Mississippi.
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