Democratic Convention: Biden makes Delaware history as virtual presidential nominee

The Democratic Party formally nominated Joe Biden to be its presidential nominee Tuesday night in an unprecedented, virtual roll call, creating a historic moment for the state as a Delawarean came one step closer to attaining the highest office in the country. 

Biden is the first Delawarean to be nominated for president by a major political party. His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, officially became the first Black woman and the first South Asian American woman to be on a major party's ticket for vice president. 

Former second lady Jill Biden was the night's keynote speaker. She talked about her marriage to Joe and how they overcame tragedy and grief throughout their relationship. 

“How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole," Jill Biden said in her speech. "With love and understanding — and with small acts of compassion. With bravery. With unwavering faith.”

To kick off the night's roll call, Delaware's U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester nominated Biden along with a New York Times security guard named Jacquelyn, who went viral online in December.

As Biden rode an elevator to an editorial board meeting at the newspaper, the security guard professed her love for the former vice president. 

It was Delaware — represented by Gov. John Carney and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, two longtime friends of Biden — who cast the last votes, putting Biden well over the 2,374 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

The longtime politicians announced the state's 32 votes at the Wilmington train station that bears the presidential candidate's name. Across the country, representatives from all 57 states and territories announced their votes against the backdrop of their communities. 

"Long before this train station bore his name," Carney said, "you would see Joe Biden up on the platform with the rest of the crowd, on his way to work or going to his family. That's always been his North Star, delivering for families like his own: Working people who struggle and sacrifice to build a better life." 

"Nobody has ever had to wonder who Joe Biden is in it for," Carney said.

Carper, who has known Biden for 40 years, described the nominee as "a leader made for this moment."

When he officially became the nominee, Biden and wife Jill were watching in a school library. His daughter, Ashley, and some of his grandchildren then surprised him on camera with balloons and streamers. 

The virtual roll call served as a reminder of the surprising place Delaware has had in this presidential campaign. Wilmington was thrust into the national spotlight this week, since the coronavirus forced Biden to forgo traveling to Milwaukee to accept the party’s nomination. 

Instead, the Democratic convention came to his hometown — transforming the Riverfront into a media circus in a matter of days. Harris and Biden will speak at the convention center on Wednesday and Thursday, though there will be no crowds cheering them on. 

SEE JOE RUN:Top 10 places to bump into Joe Biden in Delaware

SEE JILL CLIMB:Jill Biden's path from reluctant politico to possible FLOTUS

For the last six months, Biden has campaigned out of his Greenville home, hosting virtual interviews, fundraisers and town halls. In recent weeks, he has attacked President Donald Trump in speeches held at high school gyms and unveiled new policy plans in Wilmington churches and community centers.

Biden and Harris made their first official appearance as running mates at A.I. du Pont High School last week. The two also held briefings with public health and economics experts at Hotel du Pont. 

Unlike in 2016, a party divide did not overshadow the evening. 

In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders faced off in a brutal primary season, which lasted significantly longer than the 2020 primary. During the convention in Philadelphia, hundreds of Sanders supporters walked out of the hall following the roll call that resulted in Clinton’s historic nomination.

When the progressive Sanders dropped out of the primary this spring, Biden adopted a series of policy proposals to better appeal to that wing of the party. 

The second night of the convention focused on the theme of leadership, featuring speeches by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Colin Powell, a Republican, spoke of their support for Biden. 

It was Jill Biden who gave the night's most prominent speech, from a Brandywine High School classroom, where she taught English the 1990s. 

In a highly produced introductory video, Jill Biden was portrayed as an older sister who wasn't afraid to confront bullies, a lifelong teacher, a mischievous grandmother and an unconventional politician's wife.

But it was her role as the Biden matriarch that anchored the speech and how she, as her husband said, "put us back together." At the age of 26, she became the mother to two young boys, Hunter and Beau, while also balancing her marriage and teaching career.

"We found that love holds a family together," she saidLove makes us flexible and resilient. It allows us to become more than ourselves—together. And though it can’t protect us from the sorrows of life, it gives us refuge—a home.

More:Read Jill Biden's full convention speech

The former second lady also spoke of son Beau, Delaware's attorney general, who died in 2015 from brain cancer. Four days after his funeral in Wilmington, Jill Biden watched her husband return to work as the country's vice president. 

"The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders," she said. "I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours: bring us together and make us whole."

When her live speech finished, her husband of more than 40 years came on camera to give her a congratulatory kiss.

"She's the strongest person I know," he said.

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.