CHICAGO — Sit long enough at a Democratic event these days and someone will say, “It feels like 2008.”
packed arenas, bonkers fundraising, early reports With a surge in voter registration, hundreds of thousands of new volunteers stepping forward — and all in just five weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris swept to the top of the ticket — Democrats claimed to have captured the magic. 2008 year. It was a transformative year in Democratic politics and put Barack Obama on the path to becoming the first black president. He decisively wonreceiving 365 electoral votes.
Common themes emerged in interviews with party officials, volunteers and campaign officials that they say remind them of 2008 today. Phone calls flood their offices with constituents actively wanting to help, many from people who have never volunteered before. Young voters are participating. Small-dollar donations are pouring in, a third of them from first-time donors in the past week. Big-dollar donors who have not given to the party for years are being sidelined.
Gillian Rosenberg Armour, who served as Obama’s deputy political director in Iowa in 2008, said the lack of a divisive primary campaign that could split the party and the desire to defeat Donald Trump set this year apart. He said he sees trend lines pointing to similar levels of voter participation, and said Harris is willing to unite more coalitions than even Obama did, including black, Asian and female voters.
“Women are really angry and very aware of the stakes in this election,” Rosenberg told Armor. “Electing a woman president is the strongest rejection of the anti-choice, MAGA, GOP agenda.”
Hours before Harris accepted his historic nomination last week, black women who serve as state Democratic Party chairs gathered in Chicago’s West Loop to celebrate their place in the party, and many afterward noted how empowering and encouraging Harris’ nomination was for them. Harris it did not create gender or race is the centerpiece of his campaign, but many Democrats say they see him as a motivating force.
“It’s like 2008, but different,” said Lavora Barnes, chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party. “People are fired up for Barack Obama in a way we’ve never seen before. But with Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz, there’s a deep understanding that … we have to make it happen, it’s very important. We cannot let Trump into the White House. And then these two people who brought joy and love and affection to it and did it with such passion and excitement themselves, took it even higher than where we were in 2008, I feel. What a wonderful feeling. “
Ann-Marie Herod, who attended the Black Women Leaders event, said Harris’ candidacy has inspired black women in particular to get out. Herod remembered Fannie Lou HamerA 1960s civil rights activist, Mississippi’s integrated delegation was denied a seat at the 1964 Democratic convention.
“I think about the heritage we honor and how far Black women have come,” Herod said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
Harris took the reins of the party after President Joe Biden made the landmark move on July 21 to withdraw from the nomination. At first, some Democrats worried that the change could lead to divisions and even confusion within the party. Instead, the party has rallied behind him, and a renewed presidential campaign is enjoying high levels of support. Almost voting immediately improvedas he did optimism over the expanded electoral map.
But there are unprecedented aspects to Harris’ candidacy, including a truncated timeline that could mean he overreaches or is derailed by them at critical moments. He has been part of the administration for the past 3½ years, though he tried to run as a candidate for change. The sharp political divide in the United States was not as clear in 2008 as it is today. And many in the Democratic Party are trying to prevent Trump from returning to office.
“It’s a very similar energy,” civil rights leader and MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton said of 2008. “But I think what’s different is that it’s at a much more divisive time because of Trump. The country is more divided and there are more visceral reactions to race and women. I think it’s a momentum that looks like the same, but against an even more turbulent time.”
A onetime top Obama aide who was involved in Harris’ campaign effort took a slightly different view, saying, “I think we’ve outgrown the enthusiasm of 2008.”
Part of the sentiment stems from a marked shift since Biden stepped aside. Biden struggled to speak without a teleprompter — and sometimes with one. When he held events, he usually booked small venues.
Things have changed. On August 20, for example, on a night when the United Center was packed with 20,000 people, another 18,000 poured into Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum for a rally with Democrats Harris and Walz. According to the campaign, by the end of the rally, supporters had signed 2,800 voluntary queues. Similar crowds appeared in Arizona and Michigan.
“It’s like 2008 and there are numbers,” said Pete Giangreco, who worked on both Obama campaigns. attracted more followers More so than the Republican convention. Giangreco, who is also a strategist for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, said a high percentage of volunteers stepping forward in North Carolina “have never volunteered in their lives, and it’s very similar to 2008.”
He cautioned that it remains to be seen whether Harris can sustain his enthusiasm and expand his support.
“You can’t win the presidency and the Electoral College just by turning on your base,” Giangreco said.
Even Michelle Obama opened her speech at the Democratic convention by hinting at an electric moment in the party.
“There’s something wonderfully magical about the air, isn’t there? You know, we feel it in this arena, but it spreads throughout the country that we love,” he said. “A familiar feeling that has been buried too deep for a long time. You know what I’m talking about. This is the contagious power of hope.”
Chris Korge, chairman of the Harris-Walz Victory Fund, the top fundraiser for Barack Obama in 2008, said the pace of fundraising so far has remained intense and seen contributions from major donors in the days since the convention. who hasn’t written a check since at least 2020.
“Personally, I think there is no comparison in terms of fundraising. “The energy behind him is far behind Obama in terms of fundraising,” Korge said. If the pace of donations continues, Harris could be on track to raise $1 billion by November, when he entered in July, he said.
Still, while Harris packed venues, he failed to draw the massive audiences Obama drew in 2008, with crowds of 100,000 or more in places like St. Louis, Virginia, and Denver. And he has yet to directly answer voters’ questions, attend town halls or face Trump on the debate stage in a side-by-side comparison. He will participate in his first sit-down interview with CNN on Thursday.
Jim Messina, who managed Obama’s second presidential campaign, pointed to the $500 million in funds and crowds that trickled into the Milwaukee arena hours before Harris was seen as having genuine grassroots support.
“These are measures of enthusiasm,” Messina said. “The question is, does it go to the next level and really become a movement. And we are not there yet.”
Johanna Musk, director of media development for Obama’s 2008 campaign, said that while it was energizing for the party to have a new, fresh-faced leader, it remains to be seen whether enthusiasm is more than an inch away. Obama said in 2008 that he was able to turn his popularity into a huge political operation. Harris must prove he can do the same.
“President Obama had more time to build his romance within the Democratic Party. Harris will have to continue this infatuation, this newfound love, for more than 10 weeks,” Maska said. “I think there’s a difference here, because this love [for Harris] it was so fast that I hope it’s not fragile and can break easily.”
Musk also noted that building his brand over time was able to take a beating when Obama arrived.
“By the time we got to the general election in 2008, we were very tested,” he said. “We had primaries in every state. We had such good information about each voter. We had key games to win in Indiana and Iowa. Too many people are comparing Harris’ campaign [to Obama’s] and not understanding the infrastructure and architecture of those campaigns is very different.”