So after sticking my microphone in too many faces to count, wishing I could count more hours of sleep, and counting on a few key delegates to be reliable sources all week, there are a few things I think it is safe to assume we will see from Democrats moving forward (you can count on it).

GOTV

From the morning delegate meetings to the President’s acceptance speech, there was an incredible emphasis on registering and mobilizing voters.

From speaking with delegates and local party officials, I already knew voting rights was going to be a big focus moving forward- evident in the early voting lawsuit to be heard in court in a little over a week.While questions on Florida’s policy did come up on a few occasions, voting in general was a theme convention-wide.This was perhaps most evident in the final speech of the convention.The President not just attributed many successes to the American people, but flat out put responsibility on them to continue that work in to November.

And it was a call many of the delegates seemed interested in heeding.

Clay County delegate William Randall had voter registration and mobilization efforts in mind since day one.He says one of the challenges specifically in Clay County is the ability to excite Democrats who seem so incredibly outnumbered.He says the energy he returns to Clay County with will move forward and he has no doubt he will be able to excite those voices.

Duval County delegate Radwan Chowdhury dedicated his week to the Asian-American vote.He admits that this portion of the population, especially in Duval County, is underrepresented, but says some of the President’s policies and appointments have shown he is sensitive to this minority.Even more than spreading that message to voters, Chowdhury is renewing his effort to dispel myths that keep Asian-Americans from the voting booth, such as fears tied to being immigrants.

Commitment to diversity

The convention billed itself as the most diverse in the history of the event, and through the countless caucus meetings addressing- in some way- nearly every different population that could seek representation, it was clear that focus was important for the party.

That focus has seeped to the local delegations as well.When planning my week of coverage and reaching out to the different county delegations, all organizers were eager to point out the different races, religions and status positions held by their collective delegations.This was meant to speak to not just the diversity in the county itself, but the unique slice of representation they would bring to the larger convention picture.

Delegations from other states felt it was important to bring a diverse group, even if that went beyond the average layout of their states.I spoke with a delegate from Utah who was a Muslim.During our conversation, on multiple occasion, she pointed out that it was important for her voice to be heard within the state which, otherwise, mostly consists of people who are LDS.She acknowledged that she was an acute minority in the state, but is nevertheless pushing for a seat at the table equal to those of other faiths.

Need for more time

Of the issues discussed throughout the convention, the overarching theme was that we, as a nation, may not be where we want to be, but we are making progress and will be in a good place given another four years.

Republicans have repeatedly used the questions “Are you better off now than four years ago?” as a key campaign point in an effort to demonstrate some of the problems which have not improved under Obama’s term so far.

Democrats openly tackled the question, with varying responses.Some plainly said “yes”, citing the death of major terrorist leaders and job creation.Some qualified which issues were better than others.Still others acknowledged that we may not be better, but we can be.“Forward” was not just the campaign slogan, but the real message underlying the fight on nearly every issue.

Wrap-up

We now know that Florida will be a big campaign stop for the Obama campaign moving forward.One of his senior advisors, who spoke to the Florida delegates, openly told the audience they would be seeing a lot of the campaign, and since the convention both the President and former President Bill Clinton have announced campaign stops in the Sunshine state.

Democrats think that strategy, and the other themes discussed here, will help move them on to that path of victory in November.But they are counting heavily on the enthusiasm from the convention to help that move.It’s a lot of eggs to put in one basket, because the experienced convention-goers I spoke with said, often, the spirit dies relatively quickly when delegates return to life as normal.

We will soon see what the crowd is able to do and what message they will continue to take away as well.WOKV and I will continue to be on the edge of election coverage, answering that, and many other questions for you.