Wisconsin Democrats prepare for symbolic roll call in unusual DNC

The Democratic National Convention will feature a symbolic spin on the traditional roll call nomination of a candidate. Wisconsin’s delegation spent Tuesday morning getting all the necessary supplies.

Well, just one, really. Cheeseheads.

“This is your Cheesehead. You will carry it. You will sit with it. You will wear it,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler told delegates at their daily breakfast gathering on Tuesday.

Later in the evening, Democrats from every state will gather on the floor of Chicago’s United Center, home to this year’s DNC, to pledge their support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee for the Democratic ticket.

Because Harris was already formally nominated virtually, amid her highly atypical emergence as the party’s candidate after President Joe Biden ended his campaign last month, Tuesday’s roll call will just be symbolic.

Nonetheless, roll calls are historically a time for each state to show regional pride, engage in friendly rivalry and express the local values they think the candidate will embody in office.

Hence: Cheeseheads.

Wikler reminded delegates of the glow-up hats that some convention attendees had worn on the convention’s first day.

“Cheeseheads don’t glow in a literal sense. But figuratively, they emanate a kind of dairy goodness that we think this whole country is going to respond to,” he said.

The foam, triangle-shaped headwear, with holes resembling Swiss cheese and yellow coloring resembling cheddar, represents an area of common ground for the state’s political parties. Wisconsin’s Republican delegates also wore Cheeseheads to stand out at last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

And the unusual DNC roll call will come at the end of a day with another unusual twist in a convention schedule. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will leave behind the Chicago convention to hold a rally in Milwaukee.

It will mark Harris’ third visit to Wisconsin in the month since she ascended to the top of the ticket — a clear sign of the Badger State’s importance to her path to the White House.

Democratic stars swing through Wisconsin’s daily breakfasts

That importance was not lost on the speakers at Tuesday’s breakfast, which featured a lineup of Democratic stars. Some, including Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and Kentucky Gov. Andy Bashear, had been vetted as prospective vice presidential candidates before Walz was tapped.

Kelly upheld the importance of Democrats retaining Tammy Baldwin’s U.S. Senate seat in order to hold their paper-thin majority in that chamber.

“She’s a leader in the United States Senate. We need all of you to work really, really hard to get her reelected,” he said. “We can’t risk the majority in the United States Senate here.”

Bashear, who is the Democratic governor of a red state, argued a Harris presidency would serve people of all political stripes.

“We win in places like Kentucky and in Wisconsin by understanding that we have got to run and govern where people live, that when people wake up in the morning, they’re not thinking about polls,” he said. “They’re thinking about their job and whether they make enough to support their family.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet also spoke. So did several Wisconsin officials.

Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski called on attendees to work to flip the state Legislature, which has been dominated by Republicans for years. Under new districts implemented earlier this year, the state Assembly is seen as immediately competitive for Democrats, with the state Senate within reach for Democrats over the next few years.

“This November, we’re going to make sure that the Republican Legislature understands that you need to listen to our voice,” she said. “Wisconsin Democrats are coming back and taking back that Legislature.”

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, rounded out the morning by pushing the delegates to return to their home communities ready to campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket. She argued that Democrats will be stronger on the economy, healthcare and infrastructure, and that the party can’t be scared to push that message.

“Let’s keep the message simple. Let’s keep it clean. Let’s just tell people, ‘Look, let’s move forward,’” she said. “The message is simple. Don’t get into arguments with people about anything. Just tell them the truth.”