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To the beat of “Despacito” by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, the Puerto Rican Democratic delegation voted at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday.
Charlie Rodriguez, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, announced the delegates’ endorsement of Kamala Harris for the U.S. presidency.
Rodriguez said all the votes were “for Kamala Harris, the first African American, Asian and Caribbean woman to become president of the United States.”
Accompanying Rodriguez on the trip were Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluis, San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero and others.
Convention roll-call votes can be boring, but Democrats turned theirs into the ultimate dance party.
DJ Cassidy took the stage in a royal blue satin double-breasted suit and played a special song for each state and territory that awarded delegates to Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention. America got a mix of elite karaoke nights: Detroit native Eminem sang “Lose Yourself” for Michigan, Dropkick Murphys sang “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” for Massachusetts and Tupac Shakur sang “California Love” for California.
Georgia brought a local in person: Atlanta native Lil Jon, who strolled through Chicago’s United Center to listen to his song “Turn Down for What,” a collaboration with DJ Snake.
In short, Democrats are determined to bring the Democratic Party under one umbrella as part of a broader effort to project joy and positivity, even as they issue stark warnings about defeating Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The last time the party used video calls was during the pandemic-restricted 2020 convention, at which Rhode Island introduced its national dish, calamari, which added to the pressure to do something bigger this year. (The chef holding that iconic calamari tray turned out to be a Trump supporter.)
This year’s roll call included some of the party’s rising political stars, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Film director Spike Lee represented New York, while actor Sean Astin, who stars in the Notre Dame-set football film “Rudy,” was in attendance with Indiana.
The choice of music was a bit of a gamble. At the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, delegates infamously played Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix) by the Spanish pop duo Los del Río. Nearly three decades later, a video of the Macarena still circulates among political fans.
Florida’s delegation performed Tom Petty’s paean to bigotry, “I Won’t Back Down,” as it selected delegates for Harris, a not-so-subtle attack on the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who was born in Gainesville, Fla. DeSantis made the song a theme for his failed Republican presidential primary campaign, and it’s part of the name of a super PAC that has poured money into his failed causes.
“Florida is worth fighting for,” declared Nikki Fried, the state’s Democratic chairwoman, who believes the state is worth campaigning for by Democrats nationwide even though it is moving strongly to the right and is likely to go for Trump in November.
Apparently, Alabama chose Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” Alaska announced its support for Vice President Kamala Harris via Portugal’s “Feel It Still.” The Man is a band from Wasilla, where Republican Sarah Palin is mayor.
Minnesota chose “1999,” written by Prince himself at Paisley Park. Indiana, with Astin at the mic, chose “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough,” by Gary native Michael Jackson. Nevada played “Mr. Brightside,” written by Las Vegas synth-pop band The Killers. Kansas chose “Carry On My Wayward Son,” by rock band Kansas. New Jersey chose “Born in the USA,” by Bruce Springsteen.
“Nothing can stop us now,” DJ Cassidy said of Springsteen’s anthem.
Despite the festive mood, the plenary session included some serious moments. The Texas Supreme Court denied Kate Cox’s request for an abortion during her pregnancy, forcing her to move to another state for the procedure. However, Cox announced during the plenary session that she is pregnant again and the baby is due in January.
Under Democratic Party rules, only Harris has enough signatures to be nominated. Votes from other people or uncommitted votes were counted as “present” in the virtual voting list earlier this month. Tuesday night’s “celebration” vote was conducted after the total votes of the previous list.
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