Cory Booker compares Kamala Harris to "Jordan in a playoff game" after she accepts nomination at DNC
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night has energized members of her party from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Delegates from around the Philadelphia area tell CBS News Philadelphia they're motivated and that Harris gives them a real shot at victory in the 2024 presidential election against Republican former President Donald Trump.
"I find it exciting and thrilling because it's a woman," said Janet Diaz Temin, a Democratic city councilmember in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "Obviously, she is like me, a woman of color."
The historical significance also wasn't lost on 95-year-old Angie Gialloreto, a Pennsylvania delegate who is both the commonwealth's oldest delegate in Chicago and the oldest delegate in the country.
Gialloreto has attended every DNC since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was nominated and went on to defeat Gerald Ford.
Harris's nomination "means so much," Gialloreto said. "Young people, this is your time."
Elected officials also spoke like they were amped up and ready to campaign for their candidate.
"Joe Biden has given us an opportunity, an opportunity to start over again," said Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who added he's feeling "optimistic and energized" as he heads back home.
The convention has been mobilizing for Democrats.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey referenced sports history as he spoke about Harris.
"This is the best I've ever seen her," Booker said. "She is like Jordan in a playoff game right now."
Across the river in battleground Pennsylvania, Democratic officials there are prepared to work.
"Somebody said this best ... which is she has put this within the margin of effort," said Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street, who represents parts of Philadelphia. "Which means that we know that if we give the effort, we can win."
Trump campaigns on border security, tax on tips as convention ends
As the convention wound down, Trump headed down to the nation's southern border in Arizona for a visit branded as "Make America Safe Again." Speaking at the event were mothers of children killed during the Biden administration in murder cases involving suspects who did not legally enter the United States.
Trump frequently highlights attacks involving immigrants to fuel concerns about the Biden administration policies, though some studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes.
Border security has been a central theme of the Trump campaign heading into November. In May, the Senate failed for a second time to advance a bipartisan border security bill that Republicans blocked earlier in the year after Trump came out against it.
Democrats at the convention sought to cast their party as the one offering real leadership on border issues.
Trump was set to speak in Las Vegas about his "no tax on tips" proposal.