The Democratic National Convention is less than two weeks away.
Sarah Bingaman is one of four elected delegates elected to the Democratic National Convention representing the 16th Congressional District.
She said the switch at the top of the Democratic ticket will bring energy in the next several months left before Election Day.
“I think with Vice President Harris's laugh and her willingness to joke around and her willingness to dance and have fun it is it's going to be - make America fun again," Bingaman said.
Beyond Vice President Kamala Harris’ laugh, Bingaman said Harris is qualified in part due to her work under the Biden Administration.
“So, when people vote for Kamala Harris for president, there'll be voting for an entire administration, and she's been a big part of the Biden administration for the last four years,” she said.
And she’s a big fan of President Joe Biden and his administration from his work to strengthen NATO, protect same sex marriage and LGBTQ rights, and approach to the economy.
“He has brought jobs back from overseas and we know that in Illinois, because we can just look at Belvidere and see what is happening there,” she said.
Bingaman is from Dixon in Lee County, the hometown of the late President Ronald Reagan. The County is heavily Republican, one of the red dots in blue Illinois.
In the 2020 election, Donald Trump won 59% of the votes in Lee county, that’s compared to 40% statewide.
Bingaman is a member of the Lee County Democrats and serves as chair of the voter outreach committee “which is the committee that puts together the brochures, and organizes the door knocking, and the phone banking ,and the postcard mailing and all of those kinds of things.”
And she said they’re extra cautious as they navigate a contentious election season.
“We're careful about where we send people because there are high emotions in this election,” she said. “Of course, we don't have anybody ring a doorbell when there is a T-r-u-m-p sign out front or flag.”
She said in the last election, 80 of their 100 Biden signs were stolen.
“Things are polarized here,” Bingaman said. “When people have very strong feelings one way or the other, it's hard to have a conversation about that.”
Her interest in politics stems from her former profession as a public-school teacher. She said the Democratic party has always been supportive of public schools and teachers' unions.
“The Republican view is that charter schools and private schools should be supported by public money,’ she said. “I strongly disagree with that perspective.”
She plans on working with her teachers’ union at the convention and hopes to influence the party’s platform on education.
Becoming a delegate has been a goal of Bingaman’s for some time. She tried in the 1970’s and in 2020 she applied to be a Pete Buttigieg delegate but wasn’t selected.
She was all in for Biden, and said she wasn’t initially very happy to hear that Biden was dropping his reelection bid.
“I was very sad for a couple of hours until I realized that this is his choice,” she said. “He knows what he's doing and we need to trust him. And let’s get on with the show.”
She said Vice President Harris candidacy will spur enthusiasm in the youth vote and women excited to elect the first female president of the United States.
“It's really just about time, and I think a lot of women who might have stayed home or a lot of women who might have voted Republican now are will be anxious to vote for Vice President Harris.”
The Democratic National Convention begins on August 19th in Chicago.
