Deborah Cunningham-Skurnik has been to Democratic National Conventions in the past, but this year just feels different.
"I've been waiting for this," the California Democratic Party regional director told the Washington Examiner. "[The party] is on target with their messaging, and it's really resonating well with Democrats. No party preference and even moderates seem to be very eager to volunteer and donate."
Cunningham-Skurnik, a DNC elected board member, is among nearly 500 Californians headed to Chicago to celebrate the nominations of Vice President Kamala Harris for president and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for vice president.
In all, more than 4,000 credentialed delegates will be in the city Monday through Thursday for nightly televised celebrations with speeches to fire up the base.
"This is my third convention," Cunningham-Skurnik said. "I was a Clinton delegate in 1992, President Obama in 2012, but this one is going to be even more historic in so many different ways. I've been a feminist my entire adult life. My degree is in history with a specialization in women's studies from UCLA. This has been my dream, to get a woman president."
Cunningham-Skurnik said President Joe Biden's late decision to step aside and endorse Harris as his replacement has given Democrats a real shot at stopping former President Donald Trump from returning to the White House.
Harris secured the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this month, culminating a long career and dramatic rise to become the nation’s first black woman selected as a major party’s nominee. Her nomination also capped one of the most tumultuous months in political history, which not only included Biden withdrawing from the race but also an assassination attempt against Trump.
Harris, born in California to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, has quickly energized voters across the country and raised more than $300 million in a month. She and Walz have hosted rallies with crowds topping 10,000.
"She is bringing so much sunshine to the Democratic Party and not just in California," Cunningham-Skurnik said. "Look at Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada. The amount of people who showed up ... spontaneous and organic. Her crowds will start chanting things and it's like, 'Woah!' These are all things I have wanted our party to do for a very long time."
Former Sonoma County Mayor Sandra Lowe agrees.
Lowe, who will also be making the five-night, $3,000 trip from the West Coast to Chicago, told the Washington Examiner that some of her friends are wishing they had signed up in advance.
"A lot of people who didn't try to become a delegate are disappointed now because they would have loved to have been there," she said. "A little (fear of missing out) going on there. A lot of people thought, been there, done that, went there last time. It's a beautiful month here in California ... I don't think I'll do that this year. And then all of a sudden it's like, 'What? California? I want to go!'"
In addition to a nightly parade of speakers, performers, and party enthusiasts, the DNC will also adopt and unify a comprehensive party platform, taking formal stances on issues such as reproductive rights, immigration, and economic policy. There will be caucus breakfasts, councils, and meetings where delegates will discuss everything from poverty to military needs.
Giovanni Chavez, the president of California Young Democrats, will also be front and center at the convention.
California Young Democrats is the official youth arm of the party made up of Democrats 13-35 committed to "activating the youth vote, empowering Young Democrats in their community, electing Democrats to office, and building a generation of progressive leadership."
Chavez, a labor union lawyer, told the Washington Examiner that the group is seeing "a huge resurgence of energy and excitement now that Kamala Harris is at the top of the ticket."
"Young Democrats will be working hard to get Harris elected," he said. "We plan on walking doors up and down the ballot in California and in some of our neighboring states. We also plan on hosting a small-donor fundraiser for the Harris campaign. The stakes have never been this high, and now we have momentum on our side."
In addition to official events, some Californians, such as Skyler Sikes, are expecting to go off-campus for events in downtown Chicago. Sikes, who will be visiting her aunt in nearby Evanston, Illinois, told the Washington Examiner she wants to attend "DemPalooza," an open-to-the-public event at the McCormick Place convention center.
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The name, a nod to the Lollapalooza music festival that Chicago hosts annually, will feature training sessions and an expo with interactive booths, offering everything from making friendship bracelets to getting a Harris-inspired manicure.
"It's a party and everyone is invited," DNC deputy executive director Roger Lau said in a statement. The Republican National Convention took place last month in Milwaukee.
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