Why Kamala has Trump worried about ‘red‘ N. Carolina: See Obama-level stunner numbers

Why Kamala has Trump worried about ‘red’ North Carolina: See Obama-level stunner numbers.

This momentum that's empowering the Kamala Harris campaign is becoming quite concrete tonight. What began with Biden's endorsement of Harris and then became that deluge of backing from every top Democratic party leader, and led to a winning margin among the Democratic convention delegates pledging to back Harris, is now getting official. Now, this is the final, sometimes pro forma, step where you have the delegates vote to make a candidate the party's nominee. It normally goes like this: "On behalf of the governor L. Matalasi Mol, Madam Secretary, Illinois is happy to give 164 votes for the next President Jimmy Carter, and I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. All in favor of the motion to suspend the rules and nominate by acclamation Barack Obama as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, please say Aye."

That's the delegate roll call vote; that's what it usually looks like. Now, Democrats had already been planning to early up this tradition even when Biden was still in the race. They were moving the delegate vote to before any of these typical convention scenes play out in person. And just as many voters have shifted to voting early by mail rather than waiting for the actual election day, the party was prepping this plan for the delegates to vote early by electronic ballots a couple of weeks before Chicago with an online roll call. And that is now expected to conclude Monday. So this is happening. Democrats are united, they are quickly formalizing the party's choice. It also ensures a smooth start to the convention where many Americans may see Kamala Harris speak in an extended format for the first time this year or in years. Most people aren't glued to every other time that people talk in government.

The acceptance speech marks a pretty steady ascent for her. Back at the 2000 convention, Harris had not yet won any statewide office. When Obama was surging, she was not on the main stage with him. She did speak, however, at a small gathering of an Obama group that year, Vote Hope. There were no official news crews sent to cover it, but we did unearth cell phone video of her remarks in '08 as she tied her parents' civil rights work to Obama's path:

"I grew up as a child of two parents who met when they were graduate students at Berkeley and were actively involved in the civil rights movement. So, you know, they were marching all the time, and I was marching too in a stroller. Barack has said it so well, feeling the audacity of hope. We've recognized the importance of diversity, we recognized the importance of making sure that the voiceless among us had a voice in government, and what we did is what my parents did in the civil rights movement, which is we put together a coalition."

Harris worked on her own coalition. She went on to run for attorney general next cycle after Obama's first presidential victory. And by the time Obama was running for reelection, Democrats tapped her for a big main stage speech. We did have cameras there, of course, at the 2012 DNC:

"The American dream belongs to all of us, and if we can work together and stand together and vote together on November 6th for President Barack Obama, that's a dream we will put within reach of all our people. Thank you."

The dream goes on. Harris is now trying to make history like Obama and finding excitement from the musicians and culture we've been covering, to the record-breaking Zooms of all types of different groups of people kind of coming together quickly for Harris. The nation certainly seems interested. The Hollywood outlet Variety breaking this pop culture scoop: Maya Rudolph will return to SNL to play Harris for the next 3 months.

"The fun is back, baby. America's fun aunt. I'm not going to worry about the polling numbers, I'm just going to have fun and see if I can get some viral moments. Mama needs a GIF. Going to tell my kids this was Michelle Obama."

And well, sometimes the jokes become true because the viral moments and GIFs have been coming. More people and young people are clearly interested in politics right now, and that can change things. It could put more states in play. Political reporting today shows Republicans' confidence in Trump is slipping, and they're even buying ads in North Carolina, a state that went blue only once in the past 40 years for Obama's re-election bid there.

And it's hard to be a first at anything. I think most people recognize that. But being a first can also be historic and inspiring. In politics, it can be energizing. Harris is, by the way, only the second black woman ever elected to the Senate, following Carol Moseley Braun, who actually reflected on Harris's path just this week with us:

"We all have to show up and be there for her and take advantage, not let this enthusiasm dwindle. People have short memories sometimes, but if we can keep the drum beat going, we can have our first woman president."

And if America does have that, it would be not only first, as the senator said, it would be a rarity. The U.S. has never had a black female governor across all 50 states, so the White House ceiling would actually be smashed before any of the governor's mansions in this category. Some big cities have smashed the ceiling, from D.C. to Atlanta. Others haven't. Take the progressive Mecca of Manhattan, which has twice broken the color barrier and recently saw the election of its current mayor, Eric Adams, plus a diverse slate of options. The civil rights leader, lawyer, and former counsel to Mayor de Blasio, Maya Wiley, a black woman candidate, finished second among those five primary candidates:

"Ours is a fight for the future, and ours is a fight for freedom. Across our nation, we are witnessing a full-on assault on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights."

Kamala Harris is speaking there. As we chart her rise, we're joined by Maya Wiley, who, as I mentioned, came in second running for the mayor of New York City. She's also a former civil prosecutor, leader of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and we should mention, a New York DNC delegate. Welcome.

"Thank you, Ari."

What do you see in Harris's rise there as she sort of reintroduces herself to parts of the country?

"Oh, okay, so many things, and it's hard not to be emotional about it. You know, what I see is a leader, someone who's a very experienced leader, but who, for many people, many of us who've been following her career, knew. But for many people, didn't really realize just how exciting she is. You know, she didn't, she came out immediately very loyal to Joe Biden, to her president as a vice president, even in the swirl of what was going to happen to the future of the party in this election cycle. She stayed loyal, but as soon as he came out, made his decision, and announced her, you saw Kamala Harris. You know what I made of that, and what we know, those of us who've had the privilege of seeking public office and asking for people's trust, is that they want to know you. They want to know who you are. They don't want to get a presentation of something you think they think you want, you know. And she just came out as her full self. She came out that speech you showed, that clip of her, before anyone knew who she was. You heard her civil history, you heard a civil rights lawyer there as well as someone who is deeply concerned about the future of the country, but also who demonstrated it with such power. You know, I think she came out powerfully, and people felt it."

What do you see, as someone who not only has a lived experience of being a black woman in America, a black woman in American law and politics, which is one layer, but then going into something most people don't experience at all, which is, as mentioned, New York, major media market, the tabloids, the TV, as a black woman candidate? And we showed that no states have ever picked one for governor; only two states have done it for senator. What do you see here? What comes to mind from your own life experience?

"Well, first of all, the very fact that there's any discussion about what her racial identity is and the fact that that is being weaponized in an election cycle is exactly what we experienced. Because it is not just offensive, and it is, it's also an effort to code to whether or not you should relate to the candidate. At the same time, we heard aggressive attacks on her qualifications: someone who's been a district attorney, elected first woman district attorney, someone who was elected to a statewide office in the most populous state in the country, someone who's been in the U.S. Senate, someone who is in the White House and has been in the administration for three and a half years with a portfolio. This is what we're debating as qualified? Well, that's just an example of what we have to deal with as black women, as women of color, as women of any race whenever we stand up and say, 'I can do this, and I want to earn your trust.' And instead of having an actual honest discussion about, 'Okay, what will you do? Tell us what you'll do,' instead it becomes personal attacks on the person rather than an honest discussion about the candidate."