DNC speaker list includes heavy dose of Wisconsin as virtual event anchors in Milwaukee

By: Victor Jacobo

Posted: Aug 11, 2020 7:55 AM CDT | Updated: Aug 11, 2020 6:46 PM CDT

NOW: DNC speaker list includes heavy dose of Wisconsin as virtual event anchors in Milwaukee

Updated: 6:02 p.m. on August 11, 2020

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) – Prominent Wisconsin delegation members will be featured every night of the DNC, according to an announced list out Tuesday.

Monday will feature Congresswoman Gwen Moore. Tuesday will feature Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. Governor Tony Evers will begin the event on Wednesday and Senator Tammy Baldwin will deliver remarks on Thursday.

“I am very honored and excited,” Lt. Gov. Barnes told CBS 58.

While the convention will be mainly virtual, Barnes believes it will give ample space for politicians to be on the same platform as average Americans.

“We’re taking the party out of the convention hall and taking it to main street, you’re not going to see people on podiums with crowds behind them, you’re going to see people in living rooms, on factory floors, in classrooms and town squares all across the country,” Barnes said.

Another Milwaukee resident who will play an important role is DNC Secretary Jason Rae, who will be calling the roll of the states on Tuesday from the Wisconsin Center.

“As a Milwaukeean to be able to do that in our city, is a really honestly exciting time and I couldn’t be more humbled and honored to serve in that role right now,” Rae said in an interview.

Beyond the pomp and circumstance, there is strategy to the speakers included, mainly showing a united party behind presumptive nominee Joe Biden.

Prominent democrats speaking include former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Former First Lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Also included is Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Including Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez [is] clearly an effort to appeal to the progressive wing of the party,” Thomas Holbrook, a political science professor at UW-Milwaukee said. “They were not terribly enthusiastic about the democratic ticket four years ago but have shown signs of being supportive of Vice President Biden and I think this will sort of help make that case.”

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich – a republican – is also included in the speaker list, which Holbrook says indicates the democrats are trying to appeal to various wings of the party as well as disaffected conservatives.

The major nights will be Wednesday and Thursday. California Senator Kamala Harris was announced as Biden’s running mate on Tuesday. She will be speaking on the second-to-last night, Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Biden will speak on the last night, as is tradition for the nominee to be the last speaker.

Here’s a breakdown of the days and speakers:

Monday: Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Representative Jim Clyburn, Convention Chairman Representative Bennie Thompson, Representative Gwen Moore, Former Governor John Kasich, Senator Doug Jones, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Former First Lady Michelle Obama

Tuesday: Former Acting US Attorney General Sally Yates, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Former Secretary of State John Kerry, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, Former President Bill Clinton, and Former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden

Wednesday: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Governor Tony Evers, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the Vice-Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris, and Former President Barack Obama

Thursday: Senator Cory Booker, Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Senator Chris Coons, Senator Kamala Harris, The Biden Family, and Vice President Joe Biden

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Posted: 7:55 a.m. on August 11, 2020

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The 2020 Democratic National Convention is releasing the list of speakers for the event taking place August 17-20.

Monday, August 17: