DNC Speaker Lineup Day 4: Who’s Speaking on the Convention’s Final Night?

Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the party’s nomination for president to close out the convention in Chicago.

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Vice President Kamala Harris will give the keynote speech on Thursday, the last night of the Democratic National Convention.

Democrats will bring down the curtain on their convention in Chicago on Thursday night with a showcase for Vice President Kamala Harris and the party’s deep bench, giving marquee speaking slots to governors and candidates from critical swing states before Ms. Harris accepts the party’s nomination for president.

Ms. Harris, whom Democrats quickly coalesced around after President Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her, will headline a long list of speakers.

Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are scheduled to speak before her. The two face tough re-election campaigns that could determine which party controls the Senate. Democrats hold power in the chamber by a thin, 51-49 seat majority.

Two governors from battleground states that could tip the presidential election will also take center stage on Thursday: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Michigan seesawed from Donald J. Trump in the 2016 election to Mr. Biden in the 2020 election. North Carolina, which Mr. Trump won in both races, was tilting slightly toward Ms. Harris in a recent poll from The New York Times and Siena College.

Representatives Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who are running for the Senate in crucial races, will also be in the spotlight.

Other speakers include two Black state lawmakers from Tennessee who were expelled from the Republican-controlled State Legislature in 2023 for taking part in a gun-control protest on the House floor and who were later reinstated to their seats by local officials. The legislators, Justin J. Pearson of Memphis and Justin Jones of Nashville, will appear alongside Gloria Johnson, a white state representative who narrowly avoided expulsion and is running for the U.S. Senate. The lawmakers, known as the Tennessee Three, rose to national attention for seeking stricter gun laws after six people, including three children, were killed in a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville last year.

Other notable names on Thursday’s program include:

Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Senator Alex Padilla of California
Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts
Representative Lucy McBath of Georgia
Representative Joe Neguse of Colorado
Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida
Representative Colin Allred of Texas, who is running for the Senate
Former Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican critic of Mr. Trump who served on the special House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
Former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a gun-control advocate who was shot in the head while meeting with constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011.

Neil Vigdor covers politics for The Times, focusing on voting rights issues and election disinformation. More about Neil Vigdor

Maggie Astor covers politics for The New York Times, focusing on breaking news, policies, campaigns and how underrepresented or marginalized groups are affected by political systems. More about Maggie Astor

See more on: U.S. Politics, 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, Democratic Party, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, President Joe Biden