Aug 11, 2020 - Politics & Policy
Democrats announce full list of convention speakers
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Barack and Michelle Obama at a 2017 Obama Foundation event. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will headline two nights of the Democratic National Convention, according to a full list of speakers released by the party on Tuesday.
Our thought bubble, via Axios' Margaret Talev: It signals how much the Democratic Party is still the party of Barack Obama — and how strongly Biden’s team feels the Obamas can validate his vice presidential choice and energize the party’s base.
Worth noting: It's almost impossible to read anything into Biden's potential vice presidential selection from this list.
- While many potential vice presidential picks are already on the list of speakers, they could easily be moved to Wednesday night if they are Biden's choice.
- The list does not include two potential finalists, former national security advisor Susan Rice and California Rep. Karen Bass, but that doesn't mean they're out of the running.
- The party said it will announce details and additional speakers in the coming days.
The full list of speakers
Monday:
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.)
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.)
- Gov. Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.)
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.)
- Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.)
- Convention Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.)
- Rep. Gwen Moore (Wis.)
- Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich — a Republican
- Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.)
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.)
- Former First Lady Michelle Obama
Tuesday:
- Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.)
- Former Secretary of State John Kerry
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.)
- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.)
- Former President Bill Clinton,
- Former Second Lady Jill Biden
Wednesday:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.)
- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.)
- Gov. Tony Evers (Wis.)
- Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (N.M.)
- Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
- The vice presidential nominee
- Former President Barack Obama
Thursday:
- Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.)
- Gov. Gavin Newsom (Calif.)
- Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
- Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.)
- Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.)
- Sen. Chris Coons (Del.)
- Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.)
- The Biden family
- Former Vice President Joe Biden
