Pittsburgh-area delegates at DNC share uniformly positive experiences from first night
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Local delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago say Monday night's opening events were a big hit with them.
With a large number of delegates at the Democratic convention from the Pittsburgh area, those KDKA-TV reached on Tuesday were excited about the keynote address by President Biden Monday night.
"What a heck of a retirement party, right, for Joe Biden," said delegate Morgan Overton, vice chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Party.
Overton said the convention hall was full of joy and thanks to the president for passing the torch on to Kamala Harris.
"No matter where we fall in our intersections and identity and lived experiences, Joe Biden has been a champion of that, so this was just a beautiful moment to give him his flowers, and then the significance of passing the baton to Kamala Harris," Overton said.
Delegate Jim DePoe, a union organizer from the North Side, said working families owe a lot to Biden, and it showed.
"The speech that he gave, there were a lot of people that I was watching beside me and behind me that had tears in their eyes with what was going on," DePoe said.
Kaylee Werner of O'Hara just turned 21 and is the youngest delegate from Pennsylvania, and she says it's important that the Democrats reach young people, not through speeches, but through quick video quips on social media.
"For the average person my age, it will be TikTok. People my age are able to digest a 30-second video much better than a 30-minute news stream," Werner added.
Werner says Harris has a great TikTok account, and she thinks the convention will offer new material.
"We've seen a lot of excitement that's rallied behind the Harris-Walz ticket all over social media, and I think it will be very exciting to see what we can use from this convention to grow off of that."
All the local delegates think tonight's speeches by both Michelle and Barack Obama will take the convention to another level.
"Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are two of the most favorite speakers I've ever heard. I'm sure their speeches will be inspiring to everybody," DePoe added.
"They're just a uniting factor in this party that I hope that's what they continue to do," Werner said.
"Reminding us who we are as American people is what this is all about, and I just know the Obamas are going to do that," Overton said.