Blending the old and the new – that is the task for the Democrats during their party’s convention

Bringing the party together – and appealing to those with no current political home – will be an important mission, writes Chris Stevenson

Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris (Reuters)

So here we are, the first of the major party conventions in the US. With the Democrats first to give their newly formed election ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the chance to shine in front of the nation.

The Democrats, holding their convention virtually because of the pandemic, have an important few days ahead. Everyone knows what a second term of a Donald Trump-Mike Pence ticket looks like. But Biden, Harris and the party machine behind them must now sell what a Democrat presidency would look like.

Biden, a retro politician, has the job not only of telling America how Trump has failed, but also what his party will do in the future to fix things. It is how this version of the “old” (Biden) and the “new” (Harris) is served up to the American public that will have a big bearing on how November’s election pans out.

Democrats are aware of this, and the message will be a blend of the two (marrying American traditions with an emphasis on potentially planet-saving technology like electric cars, for example).

It is a tough ask, but it is the tightrope Democrats will have to walk to make it to the White House. The other task, that won’t be any easier, is trying to convince voters to come over to their side. Trump knows his goal: if he gets the same coalition of voters out in November that he did in 2016, he will have a good chance of staying on for a second term. It is the Democrats who have to bring in new voters.

Former Ohio governor John Kasich, who ran for the presidency as a Republican candidate in 2016 (before Trump took the nomination) was set to speak on Monday night in support of Biden. The aim is for Kasich to reach out to moderate Republicans who have become disillusioned with Trump.

“[What] I’m trying to do is essentially to tell people that the party doesn’t have to be your master,” he told NPR. “You can feel free to cross the aisle and vote for somebody else. That’s not some terrible thing to do. In fact, if you see somebody you like and you respect, it’s what being an American is all about.”

On the other side of the spectrum, Bernie Sanders will push the progressive wing of the party – wary of the centrist Biden – to back the party’s presidential nominee.

Bringing the party together – and appealing to those with no current political home – will be the most important tasks during the length of the Democratic national convention.