Michiana DNC Delegates reflect on the first ever virtual convention and look forward to Thursday night wrap up

ELKHART, Ind. - Thursday night is the final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC), the first ever convention to be held virtually. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be one of the speakers in the convention's final night, but he is not the only person from Michiana who is participating in the nomination process. Five delegates are from Indiana's Second Congressional District (Northern Indiana). They said the virtual convention was not what they expected, but nominating Former Vice President Joe Biden as the party's presidential candidate was an incredible experience.

"That was very exciting," said Elkhart DNC delegate Chad Crabtree. "Surprisingly, for a virtual convention, not being in the room, but being a delegate, the amount of emotion that that comes from is just awestruck."

Crabtree said that while the virtual convention has been different. It also has provided him with some unexpected opportunities.

"We were in their (other state's delegates') home state at something special to them, something significant, whether it was the Edmond Pettus Bridge, a gay couple that actually bought a bed n' breakfast in Maine and that is running it themselves, at a civil rights memorial, activism, something significant that highlighted their state which I thought was fabulous," Crabtree said.

Democrats made history this week by nominating California Senator Kamala Harris for Vice President. She is now the first minority woman on a major US party's presidential ticket, something not lost on South Bend Delegate Miriam Chestnut.

"I felt so blessed to be part of it because for years, I worked in government and nonprofit administration and really can understand what the glass ceiling is, maybe not racially," Chestnut said. "I don't understand what it is racially, but I definitely understand what it is for a woman to manage to attain that position."

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is one of the speakers for the final night of the convention. Crabtree said he expects to see the former mayor speak to middle class Americans.

"Mayor Pete, talking about his friend, his former contender for the presidency, Joe Biden and what he can do for the middle class, what he can do for the working person,” Crabtree said. “Obviously, Pete's come from Midwestern Indiana. He's a working-class individual."

You can watch the final night of the convention tonight starting at 9 on abc57.com.