The third night of the Democratic National Convention will feature speeches from several leading party figures before Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepts the vice presidential nomination and introduces himself to the nation.
Wednesday’s lineup at Chicago’s United Center includes former President Bill Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others. A handful of senators and governors are also slated to speak, including Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who was one of the finalists for the vice presidential pick.
Walz will formally accept his role as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in his primetime address at the end of the night, the most important and high-profile speech of his political career. A former high school teacher and football coach, Walz will be introduced by one of his former students and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
On Tuesday, Barack and Michelle Obama addressed the convention, laying out the case for Harris and Walz while urging Democrats to maintain the enthusiasm that has been on display in Chicago.
Follow along with the latest updates below:
Project 2025 returns as Colorado governor warns of agenda’s proposals on abortion, families
The enlarged Project 2025 policy book made its third appearance on the convention stage, as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis cited proposals outlined in the agenda about access to fertility treatments like IVF, abortion and families.
Polis put in his suit jacket pocket a page from the book that he said declares a “legitimate family is a married mother and father where only the father works.” The policy book states “families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society” and calls working fathers “essential to the well-being and development of their children.”
“I’m going to take that one out. I’m going to put that in my pocket so I can share it with undecided voters so they better understand what’s at stake this election,” he said.
Polis then warned that the policy proposals outlined in the agenda would weaponize the government to “control our reproductive and personal choices.”
“Let’s stop Project 2025 and elect Kamala Harris president this November,” he said.
Suozzi, who flipped GOP seat, says “the border is broken” and Republicans “sabotaged” fix
Democrats turned to Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York to deliver a message on immigration and border security.
His focus on the issues won him a special election in February, replacing disgraced former Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress last year and recently pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft.
In his speech, Suozzi invoked his family’s story, saying his father came from Italy, served in World War II and then was elected the youngest judge in the history of New York state.
He called the polarization on immigration “painful.”
“Let’s be clear, the border is broken,” he said. “But this year, when Democrats and Republicans worked together to finally write new border laws, we were blocked. We all know who sabotaged us.”
Republicans and Democrats reached a compromise in February that would have been the first comprehensive border security policy overhaul in decades. But Republicans ultimately blocked the bill after Trump announced his opposition to it.
“We reject the divisiveness. We reject the dysfunction. We reject the deception,” he said.
Abortion returns to center stage as Democrats hope to motivate voters
Democrats put the spotlight on abortion once again with a series of speakers who lead pro-abortion rights organizations. The issue was a motivator for voters in the 2022 midterms, the first to take place after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and Democrats are hoping it will again help propel their candidates to victory in November.
“When abortion is on the ballot, we win,” said Minnie Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, before ticking off the seven states where the pro-abortion rights position succeeded when the issue was directly on the ballot in 2022.
Voters in at least eight states will have the chance to weigh in on abortion ballot measures in November. The second night of the convention featured remarks from several women who spoke about their experiences in states with abortion restrictions.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, recalled a pregnant woman from Georgia who had to fly to California to get an abortion, and warned of the health care landscape in states with near-total bans or stringent restrictions.
“We cannot call ourselves a free nation when women are not free,” she said.
Former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said politics shouldn’t interfere with a patient’s health care.
“When women are free to make their own decisions about their lives and follow our dreams, we are unstoppable,” she said. “But when Roe v. Wade was overturned, a generation of women lost that freedom.”
Jessica Mackler, who leads EMILYs List, recited from Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion in the case that unwinded the constitutional right to abortion, in which he wrote, “Women are not without electoral or political power.”
“Donald Trump and Republicans are about to find out just how true that is,” Mackler said. “The opportunity is before us. The power is in our hands, and the time is now.”
Who’s speaking tonight at the DNC? Here’s the full list
The Democratic National Committee released the full list of tonight’s speakers:
- Alex Hornbrook, executive director of the 2024 Democratic National Convention Committee
- Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
- Sri Rakesh Bhatt of the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple
- Bishop Leah D. Daughtry, the House of the Lord Churches
- Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee
- Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All
- Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund
- Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president
- Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign
- Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs List
- María Teresa Kumar, founding President and CEO of Voto Latino
- Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York
- Mayor Aftab Pureval of Cincinnati
- Mayor Cavalier Johnson of Milwaukee
- Rashawn Spivey and Deanna Branch, lead pipe removal advocates
- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware
- Rep. Grace Meng of New York
- Colorado Gov. Jared Polis
- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida
- Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
- Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
- Maren Morris, American singer-songwriter
- Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas
- Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut
- Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County, Texas
- Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chair of the House Democratic Caucus
- Carlos Eduardo Espina, content creator
- Olivia Troye, former Trump administration national security official
- Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan
- Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi
- Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, retired U.S. Capitol Police officer
- Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey
- Olivia Julianna, content creator
- Performance by Stevie Wonder
- Kenan Thompson, American comedian and actor
- Mindy Kaling
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York
- Former President Bill Clinton
- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California
- Gov. Josh Shapiro Pennsylvania
- Alexander Hudlin
- Jasper Emhoff
- Arden Emhoff
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
- Performance by Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate
- Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
- Performance by John Legend and Sheila E.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Benjamin Ingman, former Walz student
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, vice presidential nominee
- Benediction by William Emmanuel Hall, lead Pastor of St. James Church in Chicago
Bill Clinton to say election is choice between “we the people” and “me, myself and I”
Clinton will say this election is a “clear choice” between “we the people” and “me, myself and I,” according to excerpts of his speech released by the DNC.
“Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for the chance the American people gave me to be one of the 45 people who have held the job,” he is expected to say. “Even on the bad days, you can still make something good happen. Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race with the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes — the sheer joy — to do that on good and bad days. To be our voice.”
Clinton will address the Chicago convention later tonight. It will be the 12th time he has addressed a Democratic convention. He gave his first convention speech in 1980, when he was the 33-year-old governor of Arkansas. In 1996, Chicago hosted the convention when he was running for reelection.
Convention’s third day kicks off
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker gaveled in to start the third day of the Democratic National Convention.
“Let’s party with a purpose,” he said.
DNC speakers to address immigration and border security
A cadre of speakers is slated to address immigration policy and border security on Wednesday, Harris campaign officials told CBS News, in an attempt to redefine what has been widely viewed as a major political vulnerability for Democrats and Harris in this campaign cycle.
The speakers, who include Democratic lawmakers who have focused on immigration policy and the sheriff of a Texas county near the U.S.-Mexico border, are expected to embrace a bipartisan border security deal forged earlier this year that would enact significant restrictions on asylum and fund the hiring of thousands of additional Border Patrol agents and immigration officers.
They are planning to accuse former President Donald Trump of playing political games on immigration by urging Republican lawmakers to reject the border policy compromise, which collapsed in Congress without sufficient GOP support. At the same time, the speakers are expected to paint Trump as anti-immigrant, highlighting his most controversial campaign pledges, which include a promise to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants as part of a massive deportation operation.
Read more here.
How to watch the DNC tonight
CBS News 24/7 has coverage of the convention throughout the night and is streaming the major keynote speeches. Watch live on your mobile or streaming device.
A live feed of all of the speeches can be found here and in the player at the top of this page.
CBS television stations will have coverage beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Find your local CBS station here.
Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
