ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept her nomination as the Democratic candidate for the presidential ticket at the Democratic National Convention on Monday.
Congresswoman Nikema Williams, chair of Georgia's Democratic Party, will be in the audience as Harris accepts her nomination.
She spoke with Zach Merchant, co-host of 11Alive's political show, The Georgia Vote, ahead of the convention. Williams discussed the party's revamped ticket since the 2024 election took a turn after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Williams praised the president's decades of public service and his swift endorsement of Harris.
"He will go down in the history books as someone who has always put country over everything, even his personal ambition," said the congresswoman.
Biden's departure from the 2024 White House campaign upended the race and forced the Democratic party to quickly assemble a new ticket.
"The Harris-Walz campaign stands for freedom," said Williams. "This is a joyful campaign."
Williams says some of that excitement has turned into tangible political support.
"In the first 24 hours after she was announced as running for president, we had over 1,000 volunteers just at the Democratic Party of Georgia," she added.
According to Williams, the Democratic Party of Georgia's volunteer count is the highest in a 24-hour period. She added that the party's donations also increased.
"So we know that there's a level of excitement of people ready to get engaged in a way that they've never been before," Williams stated.
However, whether that excitement has political staying power remains an open question in the days before November's election.
"The big question is 'is this a moment or is this a movement?' said Democratic political strategist Fred Hicks during a taping of The Georgia Vote's weekly political roundtable.
You can hear how he and Republican political strategist Jen Ryan analyzed that question on Sunday's edition of The Georgia Vote at 11 A.M.