Delegates from Missouri, Kansas travel to Democratic National Convention

KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com .

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Delegates from Kansas and Missouri traveled to Chicago for the beginning of the Democratic National Convention Monday.

Attendees are hoping to turn enthusiasm for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris into action at the polls on Nov. 5.

"Our honeymoon is just starting," said Jeanna Repass, chair of the Kansas Democratic Party. "All of the things that we did up to this point were the business end of it; the back end to make sure we were official. Now, we get to celebrate."

Charlie Keegan

Vice President Harris has enjoyed widespread support from Democrats since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection and instead endorsed her.

Republicans have criticized Harris as being all hype but no substance.

At a speech Thursday, Harris should lay out more of her campaign policies.

Repass expects freedom to be part of Harris’ platform.

"Freedom for women to be free from the government telling them what to do," Repass said. "Freedom to read the books that you would like to read. The freedom to be able to retire with dignity and have prescription drugs not be something that breaks your bank after you've worked your whole life."

Geoff Gerling, a delegate from Missouri, expects to hear a lot from Harris about the economy.

"I think continuing on with many of the policies that President Biden has had is the way to go," Gerling said from Chicago. “This has been an incredible recovery from COVID.”

Charlie Keegan

Part of the DNC focuses on races beyond the presidential contest.

Gerling hopes enthusiasm for Harris leads to higher turnout, which will benefit other Democratic candidates.

"We've got a lot of energy at the top of the ballot," he said. "Now, this is going to make it even easier for us to win some of the down-ballot races."

Political professors have previously told KSHB 41 News higher turnout doesn’t necessarily lead to a "blue wave" of wins for Democrats.

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