GREAT FALLS — In July, former President Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican party’s nomination for president. Starting Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris will do the same as Democrats hold their national convention.
For four days, Democrats will get the chance to promote their platform and tout their top leaders as the event gets underway in Chicago.
Carl Donovan of Great Falls will be attending his seventh consecutive convention as a delegate. He’s been a delegate at every DNC since 2000.
His journey to becoming a delegate began with running for the position at the local level.
“I ran here in Cascade County,” said Donovan. “I then went to the state level which was held in Havre. I was elected from the delegates there and we were all voted on.”
Donovan is no stranger to national conventions, having attended each one since 2000.
With the party pivot to Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, he feels there’s an added excitement, especially among younger voters registering.
“I've been helping with the Democratic (Montana State) fair booth for many, many years,” said Donovan. “And this year we saw lots of young people come to register to vote. We had over 15 people register to vote in one day. And so people are very, very excited about the Harris presidential candidacy.”
Donovan is one of 24 Montana delegates, mostly from Billings, Bozeman, Missoula and Helena. He says Lance Four Star of Wolf Point will also be a delegate.
Much of his time will be spent attending party caucuses.
“There's the LGBTQ caucus, which I'll go to the first day. There's also the Native American Caucus, which I'll go to. There's a rural caucus on Tuesday that I'm going to,” said Donovan. “So there's many different caucuses that you can go to. They are very interesting and you learn a lot.”
Despite the enthusiasm, Montana has in recent years been a Republican stronghold when it comes to the presidential race. Carl is hoping the addition of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to the ticket may help narrow that gap.
“Well, we're very excited that our vice presidential candidate’s daughter just graduated from Montana State University,” said Donovan. “So we're probably going to try to get him here at least once before the election so that we can generate more people.”
Donovan says every convention is different and you never know who you might meet. He says in the past he’s encountered Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.
While the Treasure State typically leans red, he hopes to let people know Montana has its own political uniqueness.
“We're just excited to go out and let people know that Montana is a Democratic as well as a Republican state,” said Donovan. “ And most of us are real true Montanans. We're not Montanans that have moved here, but we've all lived in Montana for a long time.”
