Historic first

Harris would be a historic first. For Democrats, that's just a bonus.

Although delegates are amped about electing the first Black woman president, Democratic officials appear less certain that it helps electorally.

Lauren Egan

Although thousands of delegates arrived at the United Center on Thursday night dressed in white in honor of the suffrage movement, the speeches so far have not leaned into the fact that Kamala Harris would be the first woman president.

It’s remarkably different from when Hillary Clinton took the stage at the Democratic convention in 2016 to accept the party nomination as president, promising to break the toughest glass ceiling amid chants of “I’m with her.”

The decision to not focus on the more history making elements of Harris’ campaign is intentional. It’s not that Democrats think that the country isn’t ready to elect a woman — they do. But there’s a belief among some Democratic strategists that playing the gender card doesn’t do much electorally.

Voters, the thinking goes, care far more about her record and platform and how she plans to help the country. Focusing on her gender could distract from issues that will actually decide the race.

Harris’ TV ads and stump speeches have talked more about her middle-class roots and her work as attorney general, not the fact that she would be a “first.” It will be interesting to see whether she sticks to that in this speech.