When I was assigned to cover the Democratic National Convention, back in May, I expected it would be a grim, somber affair, as Democrats once again placed a crown on the head of an elderly candidate none of them were convinced could beat Donald Trump. I thought of the scene in the movie Office Space, in which the Initech employees glumly sing “Happy Birthday” to their not-beloved boss, Bill Lumbergh.

That wasn’t the DNC I attended. The Democrats are, in the words of a Florida candidate, “fired up” about their candidate. Democrats love to make history. They love something new. Conservatives and cynics would say they love identity politics. If she wins, Kamala Harris would be the first woman president, the first Black female president, the first South Asian president. It’s a lot more exciting than a rematch between two old white guys. No one would have been wearing “Voting Is My Black Job” t-shirts or carrying “Prosecutor vs. Felon 2024” tote bags at Joe Biden’s convention. (And those weren’t even the cleverest slogans. That went to “The Oxford Kamala.”)

But let’s hear what the delegates have to say about that.

“I have a huge group of teenagers who are getting together to make friendship bracelets that say ‘Madame President,’” said Stephanie McGowan of New Jersey, who was wearing an American flag cowboy hat and a flag blouse, which she called her “American Swiftie” look. (As her governor, Phil Murphy, said during the roll call, McGowan is from Jersey, and you’re not. Also, she was standing next to a guy named Carmine. I was careful what I said to her.) “They didn’t feel connected to the candidate when it was Biden. As a mom and a woman, I feel she’s someone I can relate to.”

When Biden was the presumptive nominee, Democrats were voting against Trump. Now, McGowan said, they’re voting for Harris.

“My daughter didn’t even know who was at the top of the ticket. We’re moving from ‘anybody but’ to ‘who I want to vote for.’”

Susan Schofield is from Binghamton, New York, which is in one of the four New York congressional districts Republicans flipped in 2022, allowing them to take control of the House of Representatives. She was wearing a button for Josh Riley, who lost his seat that year and is trying to get it back this year. Harris at the top of the ticket gives him a better chance, she believes.

“My 39-year-old daughter, now she’s got a whole different attitude,” Schofield said. “She’s watching it with glee. She’s in entertainment, and she thinks the production values are fantastic. Every night, we say, ‘How can it get any better?’ And every night, it gets better and better: Hakeem (Jeffries), Oprah, Michelle Obama.”

Chase Stell of Georgia was wearing an “I’m a Georgian for Jimmy” button from the 1976 election, long before he was born. (“I’ve met Jimmy Carter twice. Being a native Georgian, he’s kind of like a second grandfather to me.”) After Biden dropped out and Harris became the nominee, more than 100 people signed up to volunteer for the Fulton County Democrats, on whose executive board he serves.

“When the change happened, I and millions of Americans didn’t want to say the quiet part out loud, but it was time for a change,” Stell said. “The fact that she’s a woman is so big. It’s kind of nuts that it’s taken so long to have a woman president. Mexico did it before us.”

Like all the delegates, Barbara Jones of Virginia was planning to vote for Biden, but out of a sense of obligation “to save democracy.” With Harris, “it’s more of a joy factor. It feels like the sky finally opened up. We respect Biden and what he’s done and we respect him stepping back.”

While Biden was a 2-1 underdog in the betting markets, Harris is the -102 favorite. Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin, an election forecasting website, gives her a 53 percent chance of winning. The delegates didn’t just come to Chicago to fill seats, cast ceremonial votes, wave American flags, and cheer for speeches. They came to fill themselves with enthusiasm for the presidential campaign ahead. For many, the trip was a reward for years of political grunt work: door knocking, phone banking, driving voters to the polls. Now that they’ve been to a convention, they can’t wait to go back home and do even more grunt work.

“Michelle Obama was the bomb,” said Joy Brown of Florida, whose state would clinch the election for Harris. “She just made me want to go out there door to door for Kamala. It’s time for a woman to lead.” 

That’s not a feeling she would have taken away from Joe Biden’s convention.