The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicked off on Monday evening at Chicago's United Center, with speeches from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), President Joe Biden, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and more. Delegates and Democratic party officials have descended on the Windy City this week to watch Vice President Kamala Harris formally accept the party's nomination.
Teen Vogue also traveled to Chicago to chat with young folks at the convention — and at the protests, which are urging Harris to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. Below, hear from DNC attendees and delegates about why they came to the convention, who they’re excited to see, and how they feel about the prospect of Harris becoming president.
Editor’s note: These conversations have been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Katie Williams, 18 (she/her), and Maya Smith, 19 (she/her), volunteers from Chicago
Maya Smith: We're just checking people in to make sure they're in the right area.
Teen Vogue: Have you met anyone you're excited about yet?
Katie Williams: We saw a Fox News reporter, and that was kind of shocking, but I'm really excited to see AOC.
TV: How do you feel about Vice President Harris becoming the nominee?
Maya: Personally, I'm very happy with it. I think, one, she's pushing so many barriers and setting such a great path for other women to run as well. I also think with her being the nominee, it gives a better chance of winning against Trump.
Katie: I'm really excited. I feel like having her as the Democratic nominee really energizes the party, and having the opportunity — as this is my first election to vote — to be able to vote for a Black woman.
Maya: I think it really energizes Gen Z, especially. A lot of them, since she's become the nominee, have been extremely excited and coming out on social media and to events too.
TV: How do you feel about the prospect of a second Trump administration?
Maya: Absolutely terrified.
Maya: Especially as someone who's LGBTQ, it scares me so much.
Katie: And especially with Project 2025, [the roadmap the conservative Heritage Foundation put together for a future Republican presidential administration] with reproductive rights. Tomorrow I'm going to get an IUD. With the Trump administration, with Project 2025 — having the possibility [of reproductive access] be thoroughly taken away is absolutely terrifying.
Maya: I'm a student in Illinois. Since I'm in a blue state, I have less to worry about abortion. But other friends are in red states. States like Iowa are doing bans after six weeks, when a lot of women don't know they're pregnant.
Sisters Maeve Gundrum, 11 (she/her), and Nora Gundrum, 12 (she/her), from River Forest, IL, and their cousin Lucy Wojtowicz, 15 (she/her), from Oak Park, IL
TV: What are your thoughts on Vice President Harris becoming the nominee?
Lucy Wojtowicz: She's a woman of color, and I think that's kind of cooler to see. She's getting a lot of support.… She's making history, and it's really cool to see. It's really awesome that we get to be here tonight.
Rohana Joshi, 18, Jonnika Kwon, 17, and Gavin Cruz, 17, the youngest Washington State delegates
Rohana Joshi: Our role at the convention has, essentially, just been to elect Vice President Harris to be our Democratic nominee, which we excitingly and very eagerly did a couple of weeks ago. And now our job is kind of just to get the sense of what it's really like to be at the DNC, and bring this information back to other young people everywhere and really inspire them to also maybe run for a future [convention] position. Because this is honestly an amazing opportunity. Just earlier today, we got to shake hands with Tim Walz, so that was amazing too.
Gavin Cruz: Especially being a young delegate, it's very important that we stand together. We are in uniformity that Gen Z is going to be out there…. We have to vote on hope.
TV: Is there anyone that you are excited to meet? Has there been anybody that you're, like...
Rohana: I'm probably most eager to meet any of the Obamas. They were my childhood president and first lady, so I would love to meet them.
TV: How do you feel about the upcoming election?
Jonnika Kwon: Super excited! I think I speak for a lot of young people in saying that we truly feel like, in Vice President Harris, we have a candidate who represents us, who understands us. And that's something really important, to have constituents, young people, all different identity groups feel like they have a representative in government — even better, the President of the United States — who truly cares about them and understands their experiences.
Rohana: This election really represents hope, rather than fear. We really do see progress on the ballot this year.… The next president is [likely] going to be picking the next three to four Supreme Court justices who will be serving for, at least, probably a decade. And this really determines the course of life for generations.
Jonnika: It's not just the White House, it's the Supreme Court. It's what would Trump plus a Republican Congress look like, and that would spell a completely dystopian future, where any progress we've made would essentially be undone.
Gavin: We cannot go back. I was in fourth grade when Trump was elected in 2016. And since then, I did not feel like he was a leader that represented democracy. He poisoned the well, he poisoned democracy, and he turned America into two parties, where there's hateful rhetoric, and a party of justice and a party of freedom, like us here at the DNC.
Aniyah Roberts, 17 (she/her), and Zoe Coleman, 13 (she/her), members of the Soul Children of Chicago, who performed the national anthem
Aniyah Roberts: It was very enlightening being in this arena with so many Democrats and people that want the best for our future — and just being able to sing for them was an amazing opportunity.
I was definitely excited to see Jesse Jackson, once I heard he was coming, because I know his impact, especially on the Civil Rights movement and everything. Just being able to walk past him was phenomenal. I was all shaken up.
Zoe Coleman: I agree with what Aniyah said. It was a great opportunity, and I feel like there was no hostility. It's been very, very positive since I've been here, and I'm really enjoying it.
I'm hoping that they bring out Kamala Harris, because I feel like that would be a really great experience for me, because a lot of people in general, but especially people my age, don't get to experience things like that.
I also feel like it's a great inspiration for young females to have a female role model to look up to, especially in America, because children are kind of looked down upon — especially in Chicago, and that it's being held here in Chicago is a great inspiration for young minds.
Editor's note: Maya and Katie's replies were switched in the initial version of this piece.
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