Thursday, August 22, 2024

SPECIAL EDITION: Let the balloons drop

Read in browser

On Politics

Fri Aug 23 2024

Rebecca Morin | Senior National News Reporter

@RebeccaMorin_

Good evening/morning! I'm Rebecca Morin, senior national news reporter at USA TODAY. And Kamala Harris just formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. Have Questions? Email rdmorin@usatoday.com.

A new way forward

Vice President Kamala Harris uttered the four she's been working toward even before Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election last month: "I accept your nomination." (Remember, she ran in 2020 too.) A roaring crowd greeted Harris as she dug into Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. While her own speech didn't lean into policy, her Democratic allies did. Read more.

•	Launched: Kamala Harris blasts Donald Trump as dangerous as an historic campaign begins
•	DNC replay: Harris accepts Democratic presidential nomination and more highlights
•	Fact-checking the DNC: What Kamala Harris and others get right (and wrong)
•	'It means everything': Howard University reacts to Kamala Harris' historic nomination

The arena was packed to the brim, so much so that *I* was briefly locked out of the arena. (Don't worry, I was able to get back inside.)

100,000 luftballoons

Harris, her husband Doug Emhoff (the two are celebrating their 10-year anniversary on Thursday), Tim Walz and Gwen Walz held their hands high to cheers after Harris speech. But the crowd noise went up an octave once the balloons fell. A convention official shared the following deets on the big celebratory moment.

•	There were 100,000 balloons in the drop
•	It took 75 dedicated volunteers, 30 skilled staff members, and roughly a dozen stagehands to prepare the balloons for the convention
•	Balloons were inflated on-site starting the Wednesday and Thursday before the convention
•	The balloons, which were red, white and blue, were an assortment of sizes: 9" balloons and 24" balloons.

'She's ready to serve'

Excited delegates flooded out of the arena and the consensus was clear: They told me she is ready to serve.

•	Wanika Fisher, 36, a delegate from Maryland representing Langley Park and Hyattsville, said she thinks Harris "really found her voice about balancing her sort of prosecutor background with the sensibility of people and relating to people. I feel like she was talking not at you, but with you."
•	Patrick Henderson, 56, from Southern California, attended the convention with his 16-year-old daughter: "Her speech was amazing. It was unifying. I'll get on this moving forward for our country. It's amazing to see history taking place."