Five key takeaways from the Democratic National Convention’s third night

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Kamala Harris accepted her historic nomination Wednesday as the first Black and South Asian female vice-presidential candidate in the third night of the Democratic National Convention, an evening that was at turns an ode to women, a plea to young voters and a warning to Democrats not yet sold on a Joe Biden presidency that complacency will lead to four more years of Donald Trump.

Ms. Harris, 55, became the first woman of her racial background to officially run on the presidential ticket of a major party. She accepted the nomination in a speech that focused heavily on her family – particularly her mother – and promised voters that a Biden-Harris ticket will offer “a vision of our nation as a beloved community where all are welcome.”

She was preceded by Barack Obama, who issued an emotional attack on Mr. Trump. “He’s shown no interest in putting in the work, no interest in finding common ground, no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends. No interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves,” Mr. Obama said.

But after two nights of speeches focused largely on attacking Mr. Trump’s character and record as President, Wednesday night’s convention also offered glimpses of optimism.

It came on the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote – even though many racialized women remained disenfranchised for decades. The night featured a slate of prominent Democratic women, including Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

It was also the first evening of the convention to delve into substantial policy issues such as gun violence, immigration and climate change and offered the first look at how Mr. Biden – a moderate, 77-year-old career politician – plans to appeal to young, progressive voters.

The convention wraps up Thursday, when Mr. Biden is set to formally accept the party’s presidential nomination.

Here are five key themes and highlights from the third night of the Democratic National Convention.

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Barack Obama: ‘Democracy at stake’

In an impassioned speech from Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, the former president offered a dark vision of America’s future if Democrats don’t turn out in high numbers to vote Mr. Trump out of office.

“That’s how a democracy withers, until it is no democracy at all,” he said in a speech designed to mobilize young voters and rebuild the broad coalition that helped elect him as the country’s first Black president more than a decade ago. “Do not let them take away your power. Do not let them take away your democracy.”

He painted Mr. Trump as a dangerous president focused only on himself. “I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously. That he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care,” Mr. Obama said. “But he never did.”

Mr. Biden’s campaign has relied heavily on his association with Mr. Obama, whose speech was introduced with a lengthy clip of the former president awarding Mr. Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “When I began my search for a vice-president, I didn’t know I’d end up finding a brother,” Mr. Obama said.

But Mr. Obama also nodded toward voters who supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, portraying this year’s vote as the only way to pave a future for progressive causes and candidates. “These next 76 days will echo through generations to come.”

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Hillary Clinton: ‘Woulda coulda shouda election’

Returning to the convention after her election loss in 2016, Hillary Clinton urged voters not to take this year’s election for granted. “Joe and Kamala can win three million more votes and still lose,” she said, a reference to her loss to Mr. Trump despite winning the popular vote. “Take it from me.”

Speaking from Chappaqua, N.Y., Ms. Clinton largely blamed her 2016 loss on Democratic voters who opted to stay home, assuming her win was assured. She warned voters not to make the same mistake this year.

“People have told me: ‘I didn’t realize how dangerous he was,’ ‘I wish I could do it all over’ or, worse, ‘I should have voted,’” she added. “This can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election.”

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Women: ‘When women succeed, America succeeds’

Most of the speakers Wednesday were women, and the night focused heavily on women’s issues, including clips from the Women’s March and a lengthy segment on survivors of domestic violence meant to highlight Mr. Biden’s work passing the Violence Against Women Act in 1994.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was held up as one of the country’s most powerful female politicians, using her speech from San Francisco to warn voters that Mr. Trump is dangerous to women. “I’ve seen firsthand Donald Trump’s disrespect for facts, for working families and for women in particular,” she said. “But we know what he doesn’t: When women succeed, America succeeds.”

Ms. Warren, the progressive senator who challenged Mr. Biden for the presidential nomination and has battled with him over financial regulations, spoke from an early childhood education centre in Massachusetts to tout the Biden campaign’s plans for paid family leave and affordable child care.

“Now I love a good plan,” she said, referencing a line from her own presidential bid. “And Joe Biden has some really good plans.”

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Youth: Trump ‘tore our world apart'

Wednesday night was the first in the convention to spend time on issues that matter to younger voters, many of whom supported Mr. Sanders in the Democratic primary, offering a look at Mr. Biden’s proposals for gun violence and climate change.

The night included segments featuring 18-year-old musician Billie Eilish and survivors of the Parkland school shooting. Estela Juarez, the young daughter of a U.S. Marine veteran and an undocumented mother who was deported to Mexico, told Mr. Trump. “Mr. President, you tore our world apart.”

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords gave one of her longest speeches since being shot in the head during a public event in 2011, imploring young people to vote to help end gun violence. “Words once came easily, but today I struggle to speak. But I have not lost my voice,” she said. “America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words.”

Kamala Harris: A historic moment for racialized women

Ms. Harris spoke from Wilmington, Del., addressing her historic nomination as the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica.

The California Senator and former state attorney-general spent much of the time talking about her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who moved to Berkeley, Calif., from India for an academic career.

“[She] could have never imagined that I would be standing before you now and speaking these words: I accept your nomination for vice-president of the United States of America,” Ms. Harris said.

While she offered harsh criticisms of Mr. Trump – decrying his term in the White House as “the constant chaos [that] leaves us adrift” – her speech ended the night on a note of optimism. She framed the Trump presidency as a temporary setback for Democratic voters.

“Years from now, this moment will have passed, and our children and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and they’re going to ask us: Where were you when the stakes were so high? They will ask us: What was it like? And we will tell them not just how we felt. We will tell them what we did.”

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