Why This DNC Is Different: A New Generation Is Steering, Finally

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Even as Democrats on Monday gave President Joe Biden the warmest appreciation of his five-decade career and celebrated his decision to forego re-nomination, the sepia-hued nostalgia betrayed the not-so-subtle gnashing of the party’s rank-and-file. The sentiment in Chicago was clear: Democrats are ready for a new raft of leaders.

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“This is going to be a great week. I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President, Joe Biden,” Harris said during an unannounced turn on the stage as the primetime schedule kicked into gear. But her message, while thanking Biden directly, was pointed about where she sees this race going. “This November, we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, that we are moving forward,” Harris said.

Since Harris effectively replaced Biden as the top Democratic candidate this fall, Democrats have seen fundraising explode, volunteer sign-ups rocket, and polls suggest that Harris could deny former President Donald Trump’s return to power.

On that last proof point, it’s worth noting the single biggest jump in support in polling comes from younger voters. The latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found an 18-point spike among voters under 40 since Biden left the ticket. A separate poll from CBS-YouGov found a 12-point surge among voters under 30 since July. Put simply: Harris has erased some of Biden’s weakness with no small measure of help from younger voters who were decidedly agnostic about a repeat of the 2020 campaign. 

Hence, Democrats’ obvious pivot to show that rising—yet often unrealized—constituency that party can look like them. The spine of the roster for the first night seemed far younger than is the norm for such events often designed for party insiders and donors and, as TIME’s Brian Bennett observes, the headliners get younger by the night. If Democrats are serious about winning over these younger voters, they also have to throw them a reason to look and then stick around.

From the start, it’s clear convention organizers get the need for a generation reset. There was Monday’s barn-burner from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, age 34. “Imagine having leaders in the White House who understand” working-class challenges, said the New York Democrat greeted by her fans with chants of “AOC.” “Chicago,” she added, “just because the choice is clear to us does not mean the path will be easy.”

Texas county exec Lina Hidalgo (33), Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood (37), and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (48) each paid tribute to Harris. California Sen. Laphonza Butler (45) and Rep. Robert Garcia (46) spoke of their home-state connections. When it came time for the first excoriation of Republicans’ regime in waiting detailed in Project 2025, Democrats deputized 37-year-old state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Michigan to describe what she called a “plan to turn Donald Trump into a dictator.” And 44-year-old Minnesota Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who would make history as the nation’s first Native American female Governor if Harris and running mate Tim Walz win, became something of a breakout star on social media.

As TIME’s Charlotte Alter has written with expertise and occasional skepticism, younger Americans could hold the entire political system in play if they were to exercise their latent power. As she noted after the 2020 election ended—the one that put septuagenarian Biden in power—Millennials and Gen Z voters born in 1981 or after had a hold on 31% of the electorate, up from the 14% they enjoyed when Barack Obama first won election in 2008. Zooming out slightly, the exit polls in 2020 found turnout 40% of the electorate was under the age of 45, and Biden enjoyed a 14-point advantage over Trump.

There is no reason to doubt that the age gap is not now more strongly tilted toward Harris, a 59-year-old former prosecutor, state Attorney General, and Senator. But in pressuring 81-year-old Biden to stand aside despite having an undisputed nomination, Democrats inched dangerously close to ageism. Even in scripted remarks from the stage, they risked at times tripping up their chances with older Americans, who are some of the most reliable voters. 

Democrats, though, seemed eager to cast the contest as between Harris and an opponent a generation older. “If you think you’re tired of Donald Trump, talk to a New Yorker. We’ve had to deal with him for 78 long years,” New York Gov. Kathy Hocul said.

Added Rep. Jasmine Corckett (43): “He’s a 78-year-old lifelong predator, fraudster, and cheat known for inciting violent mobs.”

The pivot also speaks to the practical needs of some pillars of the Democratic coalition’s future. “We are going to build a younger, darker, hipper, fresher, sneaker-wearing labor movement. A movement that is going to be more inclusive and built for the middle class,” SEIU President April Verrett said.

That doesn’t mean the messaging was always easy. At some moments, it was actually contradictory as Democrats celebrated a Bidenesque legacy while trying to pitch it as the path forward for the party. “J.D. [Vance] and Trump, they want to take us back to the past. Kamala and Joe have been bridging the jobs of the future to America today,” said Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, doing her solid best to hew to the script.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson got it about pitch perfect for Democrats trying to have it both ways. “We need the energy of our young people. We need the wisdom of our elders,” he said. 

Institutional Democrats, personified in Biden but echoed in plenty of other speakers on Monday like Reps. Jim Clyburn and Maxine Waters, would prefer their heydays to continue, but they also are looking at raw facts that encouraged their exits from perches of power. Sure, there was a hagiographic send-off for Biden and further nods to the party’s history set for the coming days. Former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton offered her own sincere tribute to Biden’s decades of service. But the message was clear that this is no longer the party of Clintons, Bidens, or even Obamas. “Now, we are writing a new chapter in America’s story,” Hillary Clinton said. “The future is here.”

Even before the convention was gaveled in, it was clear Democrats understood the assignment. “Throughout his term, he has brought us together and revived our country and our country’s soul,” convention chief Minyon Moore said of Biden as she welcomed delegates. “And last month in a true act of patriotism, he passed the torch to the next generation and the next President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”

Now, it’s up to that next generation to prove they were worth the gamble.

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