The Democratic National Convention ended with a standing ovation for Vice President Kamala Harris after she challenged voters to ‘chart a new way’ without former President Donald Trump.
This week’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention is here, and you can scroll down for highlights from the convention.
The Democratic National Convention ended last night with a standing ovation for Vice President Kamala Harris after she made history as the first woman of color to accept the presidential nomination of a major political party in the United States.
This week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covered this historic moment in U.S. politics through the eyes of Atlanta, Georgia and the South, with more than 20 journalists in Chicago and Atlanta.
On behalf of the AJC Politics team, thank you for spending your week with us.
Before we return to Atlanta, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock joins us on Politically Georgia to reflect on the convention and tell us where the presidential campaign is headed after the DNC. As always, you can listen live in Atlanta at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE or download the podcast on demand.
Election Day is in 74 days and over the coming weeks we'll bring you on AJC.com and the AJC News app more of the trusted reporting you've come to expect from the AJC Politics team.
This week’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention is here, and you can scroll down this page for this week's real-time highlights. If you missed it, our coverage of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee is here.
Vice President Kamala Harris challenged voters to unite behind her bid for the White House and reject the “unserious” candidacy of former President Donald Trump as she accepted her party’s nomination Thursday with a warning the Republican could wield power ruthlessly if he prevails.
She urged Americans to take advantage of a “precious, fleeting opportunity” to move past the divisive battles that have dominated the political dialogue and warned that Trump would exploit a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity to abuse the vast powers of the Oval Office.
“Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution,” she said, adding: “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.”
The United Center crowd, packed to the rafters with thousands of delegates garbed in red, white and blue, chanted in unison: “We are not going back.”
Read more here.
Vice President Kamala Harris confronted what Democratic leaders worry is the party’s biggest vulnerability.
In her acceptance speech, she vowed to back a bipartisan border security bill that stalled this year, and blamed former President Donald Trump for helping to scuttle its chances.
Polls in Georgia and other battleground states show voters see immigration as one of the top issues that will factor into their votes.
In pointed remarks, Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to uphold the “peaceful transfer of power” this campaign.
It earned a burst of applause from thousands of delegates in the United Center, mindful of pending charges against former President Donald Trump in Fulton County and other jurisdictions involving his attempt to subvert the 2020 election.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
She said Trump "fanned the flames" of insurrection ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and warned that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity could give him unbridled power.
"Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails."
To deafening applause, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Party's nomination, urging voters to use the "precious, fleeting opportunity" to unite behind her campaign.
It punctuated the opening of a speech that also including a shout-out to President Joe Biden.
“Your record is extraordinary, as history will show,” Harris said of Biden, who selected her as his running mate in 2020 and whose decision to end his reelection bid cleared the way for her ascent to the top of the ticket.
She also praised her middle-class upbringing and portrayed her prosecutorial background as an act of public service that helped prepare her for the White House.
"My entire career, I have only had one client. The people," she said.
Kamala Harris' supporters at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta jumped to their feet, clapped and cheered as the vice president took the stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
The group nodded in support when Harris thanked President Joe Biden for his service to the United States.
And they watched eagerly as Harris delivered her remarks to make her case to the nation for her bid for the presidency.
U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger isn’t a Democrat, but the former Republican congressman from Illinois told delegates at the Unitd Center that he was “proud to be in the trenches” with them in supporting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump.
“I’ve learned something about the Democratic Party and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret – the Democrats are as patriotic as us,” he said.
Kinzinger then ripped Republicans for being more loyal to Trump than to the conservative ideals the party was founded on.
“Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong, a small man pretending to be big,” he said.
Kinzinger, a veteran, was one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He told delegates that he stood witness that day “to a profound sorrow” as the peaceful transition of power was disrupted “by a man too fragile, too vain and too weak to accept defeat.”
Kinzinger said he is confident that Harris shares his commitment to the country and the Constitution.
“My fellow Republicans, if you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here too.”
Former President Donald Trump tried to heal the divide with Gov. Brian Kemp after he revived his long-running feud with the Georgia Republican at a rally in Atlanta earlier this month.
Trump thanked the second-term governor on social media tonight “for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important” for his reelection bid.
Read more here.
Retired Atlanta Journal-Constitution political columnist Jim Galloway once described U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath as a rarity in Georgia politics: a movement politician, elected in large part on the strength of her anti-gun violence message.
McBath entered politics after her 17-year-old son Jordan was shot and killed while sitting in a car with friends at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida.
Then came the massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school.
Here are some things to know about Lucy McBath.
At least one Democratic elected official thinks the 2026 Democratic primary for Georgia governor is over.