Several Texans spoke at the first night of the Democratic National Convention, which started Monday in Chicago. President Joe Biden, who is not running for reelection, gave the keynote speech at the end of the night.
Earlier, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett spoke on the main stage. Crockett is running for her second term in District 30, which covers Downtown Dallas and parts of southern Dallas and Tarrant Counties.
"While Donald Trump wants to put our 1787 Constitution through his Project 2025 paper shredder and make every day January 6, Kamala Harris is fighting to fulfill the promise of America," Crockett said.
Crockett said she met Harris when she was elected to her first term in 2022.
"When I first got to Congress, I wasn't sure I made the right decision. The chaos caucus couldn't elect a speaker, and the Oversight Committee was unhinged," she said. "I was going through all of this when I visited the vice president's residence for the first time. As I approached Vice President Harris for our official photo, she turned to me and asked what's wrong? She saw right through me. She saw the distress. I immediately began crying, and the most powerful woman in the world wiped my tears and listened. She then said, 'You are exactly where God wants you. Your district chose you because they believe in you, and so do I.'"
Amanda and Josh Zurawski also spoke before Biden Monday night. The couple said they had to travel from Austin to another state to get an abortion.
Amanda Zurawski said her doctors had told her the fetus would not survive, and without an abortion, she may not be able to have kids in the future. She said she wound up back in the hospital with an infection before they decided to leave Texas to get an abortion.
"A second Trump term would rip away even more of our rights, passing a national abortion ban, letting states monitor pregnancies and prosecute doctors, restricting birth control and fertility treatments," Zurawski said. "We cannot let that happen. We need to vote as if lives depend on it because they do."
JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, was campaigning in Pennsylvania Monday. He countered Trump would leave the issue to states.
"What President Trump has said has been very direct, and I think, honestly, he's tried to find some common ground in this country that has been divided by this question for 50 years," Vance said. "He said, 'Look, Pennsylvania's going to want to have a different abortion policy from Ohio, which is going to want to have a different policy from California. Let the states decide. Let the people in those states decide."
The Democratic National Convention continues through Thursday in Chicago. El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar is one of four co-chairs. Texas has 273 delegates at the convention.
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