After DNC ends, volunteers aim to explore Chicago, get to work on campaign trail
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Democratic National Convention might be over, but that doesn't mean all of the attendees had gone home just yet on Friday.
Some were staying a little while longer to see the city outside of McCormick Place and United Center.
There were a few stragglers in Chicago on Friday after the DNC ended. Volunteers were taking in some of the sights and sounds of the city before they headed home and got to work.
"Our real focus needs to be those swing states," said Nancy Lindsay, a volunteer from Seattle.
Lindsay and her friend and fellow convention volunteer Nancy Riverland took a stroll down Michigan Avenue before making their way home to Seattle and San Francisco.
"We gotta be all in in this election. We have a very slim margin right now," Lindsay said. "Every vote counts, so we've gotta do what we can to get the voters out."
The two donated their time to the DNC this week.
Lindsay said they were "working with accessibility and that was great. We working with delegates and other VIPs and going down to the floor and seeing the speakers, just the energy was just amazing. I think the energy was the biggest highlight."
They plan to keep up the work once they're back in their home states, starting with post cards that they got at the convention.
"We're giving out post cards to send to people that are registered voters in swing states and to remind them to get out the vote," Riverland explained.
Traveling to get out the vote is also on the table, something that Laya DeLeon Hayes, an actress on CBS's "The Equalizer" also plans to do.
"It could happen on Friday night where they're like, 'Hey, do you want to come on Saturday to North Carolina? Or do you want to come to Atlanta?'" she said. "It kinda works that way."
This will be the first presidential election DeLeon Hayes, 20, will be voting in.
"I think the more that we can try to get in touch with Gen Z, is probably the best because our vote is more critical this year," she said.
As a celebrity surrogate and someone who promotes a candidate using their own platform, she hopes to use her star power as so many celebrities at the DNC have done already to keep up the Harris campaign's momentum.
"Especially with having a social media platform, I'm able to talk to my followers digitally and socially, which is also been the amazing thing about being a surrogate," DeLeon Hayes said.
While the people who spoke to CBS News Chicago said they stand at the ready to do whatever is necessary before November, they're still awaiting marching orders from the Harris-Walz campaign.