Texans make up the third-largest delegation at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Though candidates Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are unlikely to win Texas’ electoral votes in November, UT-San Antonio political science professor Sharon Navarro says a few Texans are worth watching this week.
Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Let’s talk about what’s happening outside the convention. Lots of protests are scheduled. And though the parallels with Chicago in ’68 have probably been overdone, do you see a potential of that taking over the narrative of a party solidly backing this Harris ticket?
Sharon Navarro: Not so much. I think we can expect to see protests at any convention, and we’ve seen them historically play out – it depends on how much the media gives them attention versus what’s going on inside the convention.
So, you know, when you talk about the contrast between what could have been and what actually will transpire, it’s not what a lot of people would have expected back in June or early July.
Democrats are going in here more united than I think a lot of people have seen the party in years.
It’s been a wild ride. What we expect to see is that conventions are usually public relations, they are shows for television, shows for the party. So we can expect to see some unification, some visions of the future, of what could be and what the possibilities are.
How is that going to be articulated, as you understand it? They have sort of a slate of some Democratic celebrities that they are carefully rolling out, ultimately leading up to Kamala Harris’ big speech on Thursday.
Right. We can expect to see them talk about themes in terms of the party being one of vision forward rather than backward, that democracy is at stake – some of the same things we heard in 2020. And various speakers are going to integrate Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz in how they will carry out this vision for the American public.
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What about specifics? There’s been a lot of talk, especially among the commentariat on the Sunday morning talk shows, that there seems to be a certain lack of specificity when it comes to how Kamala Harris’ administration, were that to happen, might differ from her predecessor President Biden’s administration.
Well, I think what we are going to expect to see is a broad introduction of her vision, of what her administration expects to move forward. So in terms of issues, we should see a tribute to Biden, and what he’s done for the country, and whether or not Harris will continue some of his policies or step away and provide a fresh vision.
We’re also going to see issues specific to abortion. It was a winner for the Democrats in the midterm election. It’s still controversial. We see anecdotal incidents of women challenging states and at various court levels about their rights.
And I think she also has to address the issue of border since it’s been brought up time and time again from Trump. So we’re going to see a new vision presented by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Texas, of course, remains a red state, and that’s especially true when it comes down to the presidential polls. Democratic candidates, however – Colin Allred comes to mind, running against Senator Ted Cruz in a high-stakes Senate seat here – there’s been a lot of reporting Allred has sort of held Vice President Harris at arm’s length. Is that a balancing act for Democrats right now?
Absolutely. We don’t really know much about Harris at this point. This is a chance for her to talk a little bit about who she is, how her family and her history of her family ties into the broader American dream and the future that she envisions for the United States. It’ll be her chance to connect personally through her stories and policies.
And I think once that is that is established, then we’ll see all the down-ballot candidates sort of coalesce and support and become more aligned with the Harris-Walz administration.
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Let’s talk about some of the top Democrats you think we should be watching for this week.
[Harris County Judge] Lina Hidalgo from Houston and [Senate candidate] Colin Allred – I think this is their moment to define what their vision is.We know that Lina Hidalgo has some aspirations to seek higher office. She comes from a city that is very mixed, can carry the Democratic vote.
And of course, Allred is running for statewide office. So this is his moment to present his case for independents and Democrats.
