Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will speak at the unusual Democratic National Convention next week, where former Vice President Joe Biden will formally accept the Democratic nomination.
Lujan Grisham is one of the list of speakers announced, and will speak on Aug. 19, the same night as Biden’s vice presidential nominee.
Lujan Grisham was on the short-list of vice presidential candidates, but said in recent weeks that she hadn’t had recent conversations with the Biden campaign. Biden committed early in the process to nominating a woman to be his running mate.
The convention will be held online this year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, the Democratic Party had planned to hold the event in Milwaukee, the largest city in the swing state of Wisconsin.
Not only will Lujan Grisham speak on the same day as the vice presidential nominee, but other scheduled speakers that night include former President Barack Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. All are Democrats.
One Republican, former Ohio governor and Trump skeptic John Kasich, will speak at the convention, on Aug. 17.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama will headline the first night of the convention, followed by Former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Joe Biden’s wife, on Aug. 18. Biden himself will headline on Aug. 20, the final night of the convention.
More speakers will be announced ahead of the convention next week.
In past Democratic National Conventions, former Gov. Bill Richardson, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and others have had speaking slots.
Former Gov. Susana Martinez was among the speakers at the 2012 Republican National Convention, where Republicans formally nominated Mitt Romney.
By Matthew Reichbach
New Mexico Political Report
