DNC Chicago: Kamala Harris to be nominated at Democratic convention as security ramped up for Gaza ceasefire protest

Democrats are gathering in Chicago for the start of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), which will see Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz formally nominated to be the party’s candidates in the 2024 presidential race to take on Donald Trump and JD Vance.

Harris has enjoyed an astonising boom in popularity since Joe Biden made his historic decision not to pursue another term in the White House a month ago, standing aside and endorsing his deputy as his successor in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Trump in Atlanta on June 27.

With the party rallying around Harris, she has surged in the polls and cemented her appeal by adding Walz to the ticket, a sequence of events that has left Trump and Vance reeling, with seemingly little idea how best to respond to the new challenge they face.

This week’s four-day convention will build towards Harris’s speech on Thursday evening, with Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Adam Kinzinger all due to address delegates before then.

Security has meanwhile been ramped up as activists arrive to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

Republicans will join the swathes of Democrats descending on Chicago this week as Trumpworld tries to find a way to blunt Kamala Harris‘s momentum.

As the four-day DNC gets under way in the Windy City, Donald Trump and his allies are making plans for counter-programming to the event.

Trump’s Chicago hotel will become the epicenter of the Republican world as his allies including Florida Senator Rick Scott and his colleague in the House, Byron Donalds, are among those who will lead the GOP’s efforts to counter-program the convention.

Themes of the four-day event at the Trump hotel will