'Immense contrast in just the feel and energy': Who are Cincinnati's delegates to the DNC?

Cincinnati-area Democrats going to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention feel much better about the trip than they did a few weeks ago.

"I think all of us felt the pain of Biden's debate," said Gavi Begtrup, a former Cincinnati mayoral candidate who will be a Democratic delegate from the 1st Congressional District. "What's been wonderful is the immense contrast in just the feel and energy of the campaign."

Ohio Democrats will send college students and aspiring politicians alongside veteran officeholders to Chicago to celebrate their nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

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It's already a done deal. Shortly after President Joe Biden stepped aside, Democratic delegates across the country voted to nominate Harris.

Delegates from the Cincinnati region told The Enquirer would head to Chicago to send a message they are unified behind Harris. The convention runs from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22.

Here's a look at who will be at the Democratic National Convention from the Cincinnati region.

How they were chosen

In January , Democrats in all 15 of Ohio's congressional districts met to choose delegates. The vote was open to any registered voter who signed a pledge to support Biden.

Each congressional district receives delegates based on how many votes Democratic candidates in the district received in previous elections. The more Democratic voters in the district, the more delegates.

In addition to those delegates, Ohio Democratic Party state executive committee also chooses 25% of the state's 144 delegates as "at-large" delegates.

The 1st Congressional District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman and covers all of Cincinnati, will send 15 people to the convention. That's the third-most of Ohio's congressional districts behind the 11th Congressional District in Cleveland, which is sending 19 people, and the 3rd Congressional District in Columbus, which is sending 23.

The 8th Congressional District will send six delegates. It's a heavily Republican district that covers western Hamilton County and Butler County and is represented by Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Troy. Just east of Cincinnati, in the 2nd Congressional District, one of the biggest Trump-supporting districts, three Democrats will go to Chicago for the convention.

Young college students given a chance

Ohio Democrats told The Enquirer they hope to use the convention to nurture the next generation of politicians and activists. About two-thirds of Ohio's Democratic delegates are first-timers. Many are still in college.

One of them is 22-year-old Patrick Houlihan, a Miami University student who currently heads the College Democrats of Ohio. Not long after he arrived on Miami University's campus, he met fellow student Sam Lawrence, who was running for the Ohio House. Houlihan volunteered for his campaign and became hooked on politics.

"Having people that are in the rooms making decisions that are tuned into what people want and need, I think that's a really great direction for our party to be going in," Houlihan said. "And to have so much support from young people, I mean, those are the future voters of the United States. So I think that it bodes well."

Fellow Miami University student Katherine Louagie and 22-year-old Xavier University student activist Ethan Nichols will also serve as delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

Cincinnati area government will be represented

Cincinnati-area Democrats from all levels of government will be at the Democratic National Convention.

They include Rep. Greg Landsman, a Democratic congressman from Cincinnati's Mount Washington neighborhood. A week after Harris became the nominee, Landsman co-organized a rally in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Oakley to celebrate the change at the top of the presidential ticket.

He declared to the hundreds of rally-goers that "this is definitely the most important election of my lifetime."

Landsman will be joined at the Democratic National Convention by fellow delegates Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and Councilman Reggie Harris.

Other elected officials going as delegates are Hamilton County Board of Commissioner member Denise Driehaus, former Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, and State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, a Democrat from Over-the-Rhine. It's Isaacsohn's first convention.

"It feels like five years have happened in the last six weeks politically," Isaacsohn said. "There's just been this huge tidal wave, kind of a shift, in enthusiasm."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Immense contrast in just the feel and energy': Who are Cincinnati's delegates to the DNC?