Frederica Freyberg:
You're watching Democratic National Convention coverage from Chicago. I'm Frederica Freyberg. We'll stay with News Hour coverage but we want to check in now with Here & Now senior political reporter Zac Schultz, who comes to us from Chicago. Leading up to tonight's speech, Zac, before the convention, from President Joe Biden, Wisconsin already figured prominently in this convention, with VP candidate Tim Walz speaking to Wisconsin delegates and media today. Who else did you hear from?

Zac Schultz:
Well, it was a pretty big celebrity row. It was a lot of governors from around the country. There was the governor from Maryland, from New York. There was the lieutenant governor from Michigan. And obviously Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, was a big surprise for a lot of the delegates. It was whispered before he came in that that's what they were waiting for. There were some stragglers that didn't get into the breakfast on time. You're in there by 8:10 and you missed him. So it was a pretty big thing. And of course, Governor Evers, Wisconsin's governor, spoke. And he talked about the prominence that our state is still playing. It's the RNC was in Wisconsin. The DNC's in the neighboring state but Wisconsin is still like the primary focus of a lot of people.

Tony Evers:
We're going to make it or break it for our country. I do believe that the Democrats have to win in Wisconsin in order to have this great team go across the finish line. Obviously we're hoping as time goes on that there are more states just like Wisconsin that fall into that category. But this is really, really important for our country and I'm just honored to be the governor of the state of Wisconsin, especially at this point in time.

Frederica Freyberg:
So Wisconsin is so important that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to be in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee tomorrow, instead of at the convention there in Chicago. What does that say?

Zac Schultz:
Well, just what we've been talking about. It's so vital. Wisconsin matters so much. It's only 10 electoral votes but they count. They're still looked at as that tipping point state on who's going to win. You win Wisconsin, you become the president. So that's why Kamala's going to be there. There was also some counterprogramming in mind, the idea that reclaiming the space where the Republicans held their convention and seeing if they can fill the arena. I think there's definitely competition with the Democrats when it comes to seeing if they can put a bigger crowd in there with Trump. But don't forget, Trump's VP nominee, JD Vance, is going to be in Kenosha tomorrow. So everyone's in Wisconsin, even with the united center being the DNC.

Frederica Freyberg:
Yeah, and at the convention hall, the Wisconsin delegation I understand literally has front row seats there. So again, Wisconsin at the epicenter. Zac Schultz, thanks very much for joining us. We'll check in again tomorrow. And we will be here at the same time with latest updates from day two of the DNC in Chicago. On Friday, join Here & Now at seven for full coverage of the convention and what it means for Wisconsin.