Michelle Obama, San Antonio mayor highlight first night of Democratic convention
(CBS News) San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., this September, making him the first Latino to give the opening-night speech.
First Lady Michelle Obama will also speak on the first night of the convention, on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at the Time Warner Cable Arena.
"Having both the First Lady and Mayor Castro speak on the opening night of our convention will bring together two incredible leaders whose life stories both embody the promise of America, that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can make it," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the 2012 Democratic Convention Chair, said in a statement.
In a video in which he discusses his role as keynote speaker, Castro praises President Obama's first term in office and notes that Mr. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. Mr. Obama was widely praised for that speech, illustrating how the prime speaking slot can help raise a politician's national profile.
Castro, 37, is in his second term as mayor of the nation's seventh-largest city after easily winning re-election in 2011 with nearly 82 percent of the vote. Castro is building up his own career at a time when the Democratic party is seeing more potential to turn Texas into a blue state, due to the growing Hispanic community. While Texas is for now a solidly Republican state when it comes to presidential politics, the Hispanic community will play a key role in swing states like Colorado and Nevada this year.
There was some speculation that Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren would deliver this year's keynote address, but the Democratic National Convention Committee announced Monday night that Warren will speak instead in prime time on Wednesday, just ahead of former President Bill Clinton.
Warren, who helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as part of President Obama's Wall Street regulatory overhaul, is a favorite among liberal activists.
On Sept. 6, the final evening of the convention, Vice President Joe Biden will speak before Mr. Obama formally accepts his nomination for re-election.
