‘Energetic’: First-time delegate says convention heralds a movement
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A member of Indiana’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention on Friday said he wished everyone could have experienced the energy there firsthand.
Connor Elliott, a 19-year-old college student from Shelbyville, Indiana, was one of 88 delegates Indiana sent to this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He said he loved the energy on the convention floor, echoing similar comments from other delegates who talked to News 8 throughout the week.
In an interview for All INdiana Politics, he said watching the convention from afar doesn’t compare with being there in person. As a delegate, he said he was able to walk around the main floor in front of the stage and mingle with delegates from other states.
“I think that’s something that I wish a lot more Americans were able to see, to see the energy that we had, and to be able to take that and realize that this is a movement that’s coming through,” Elliott said.
Elliott said the convention felt like the passing of the torch to a new generation. He said he would have voted for President Joe Biden had he been on the ballot in November, but Biden’s decision to drop out in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris got a lot of his peers’ attention. Elliott called Biden’s decision a selfless act.
“The day that President Biden dropped out, I got many texts from individuals being like, “Hey, I wasn’t interested in this election at all. I was really turned off,’” Elliott said. “But the moment that I saw Kamala Harris step in, it just ignited a new passion within them.”
Elliott said he appreciates the way Harris talks about issues that matter to voters his age, such as housing affordability and gun violence prevention. He said he’s also taken a liking to the vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Elliott said Walz reminds him of his own father, and he seems comfortable in his own skin in a way most politicians do not.
All INdiana Politics airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.