Most thrilled, some disappointed. Kamala Harris’s DNC speech gets mixed reviews from WA delegates

If Washington’s roughly 100 delegates were tired after a week packed from early morning breakfasts to late night speakers, they didn’t show it on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. When Vice President Kamala Harris spoke Thursday, most of the delegation seemed giddy with excitement over the party’s recent switch-up at the top of the ticket.

Chris Porter, a delegate from West Seattle, was one of the most visibly pro-Biden Democrats at the Washington State Democratic Convention in Bellevue in June – he wore a shirt that said “Joe Biden saved me $70,000. Thanks, Joe,” referring to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.

RELATED: KUOW covers Washington Democrats in Chicago for 2024 DNC

But on Thursday night, he was bedecked with “Lotus for POTUS” buttons (“Kamala” is a Sanskrit word for lotus flower), a glittery pink cowboy hat (a reference to “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé's latest album,) bopping balloons back in the air.

“It is almost like a dream, but it’s actually true,” Porter said.

But there were disappointments, small and big, among the delegation. The disco-ball light-up cowboy hats on the Washington delegates’ heads – which they say the Smithsonian asked for – were worn in hopes Beyoncé would perform Thursday night.

That didn’t happen.

Washington State Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad, the biggest Beyoncé fan in the most visibly pro-Beyoncé delegation, walked down to the floor after it was clear she would not be performing, kicking waves of balloons out of the way.

“I was a little surprised, because I was really hopeful, and I had heard that it was going to happen,” Conrad said. “But it still was an incredible night, an incredible speech from our next president, Kamala Harris, and I know that that Beyoncé moment is coming. We just have to wait for it. I think it's going to be an inauguration moment now.”

RELATED: A recount is coming in race for WA public lands commissioner

From one small chunk of the delegation, the disappointment was more rooted in Harris’ speech.

Washington’s two uncommitted delegates and some other Harris delegates have been part of a national effort to push Harris on Gaza. When Biden spoke on Monday, they put their hands over their mouths with “No More Bombs” written in marker. When the DNC denied their request to have a Palestinian American speaker address the convention, they staged a sit-in all night Wednesday and all day Thursday outside the United Center.

While listening to Harris’ speech, uncommitted delegate Yaz Kader – who’d barely slept in the previous 24 hours except for a 10-minute nap Thursday morning in the shade of a wayfinding sign outside the United Center – clapped robotically.

When Harris got to Israel and Gaza, he stopped clapping.

“Let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” Harris said.

She said Israelis should “never again” go through the horror and “unspeakable” attacks of Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel.

“At the same time, what has happened in Gaza in the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said.

Kader didn’t clap.

RELATED: The Washington state ballot is big. Does it have to be?

“I don't know how many times, as a Palestinian, I have to say that, Vice President Harris, your words are not enough. Today, you had the opportunity to present a Palestinian speaker to show that you actually value and humanize the Palestinian life,” Kader said. “And you didn't do that, Vice President Harris, you just didn't do that. And so, we're left with the same empty words. Just because you say 'ceasefire' doesn't mean that we get a ceasefire.”

He said he’s hoping Harris will differentiate herself from President Joe Biden more in the coming weeks. He and the uncommitted campaign plan to continue working to shift party policies.

The other delegates, the ones that are all in for Harris, they will be sending postcards, phone-banking, and some even traveling to swing states to knock on doors.