'Now is the time': Democrats again dream of electing female president after Hillary Clinton's loss

CHICAGO ? The day started with such promise, Denise Murphy McGraw remembers.

It was Election Day, and before the night was over, Murphy McGraw was certain, Hillary Clinton would become the first woman in history elected president of the United States. Murphy McGraw dressed in her white suit in anticipation of Clinton’s victory celebration and watched as the election results came in.

Then the unthinkable happened: Donald Trump defied the polls, the press and the pundits, defeating Clinton. Murphy McGraw was devastated.

“I wasn’t sure when I went to bed that night, I was ever going to have this opportunity again to get to vote for a woman, to see a woman in this position,” said Murphy McGraw, of Niskayuna, New York.

Yet here she is, eight years later, ready to vote for Kamala Harris and daring to hope once again that the United States is on the verge of electing a woman president – “and a woman of color no less,” Murphy McGraw said Monday from the floor of the Democratic National Convention, where she is a delegate.

For Americans whose dreams of a female president were dashed with Clinton’s loss in 2016, Harris’ ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden’s late exit from the race last month is the second chance many thought they’d never see.

Trump is again the Republican nominee, and polls again show a tight race. But this time feels different, Democrats attending the party’s convention said.

The Supreme Court’s ruling two summers ago that overturned Roe v. Wade has instilled a sense of urgency in women who believe in reproductive choice. Derogatory remarks against women by Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, who mocked those with no children as “childless cat ladies,” caused a furor that Democrats believe will drive voters to the polls in large numbers and lead to Harris’ election.

“We tried for Hillary, but now is the time, the hour, the moment, and we’re going to seize every minute,” Mary Whipple-Lue, former mayor of Gordon, Georgia, said from the convention floor.

Whipple-Lue’s remarks were briefly interrupted by a roar from the crowded convention hall as a video of Harris played on a jumbotron behind the main stage.

“We are at a crisis now, and we want to save America,” said Whipple-Lue’s seatmate, Desdimonia Cross of Decatur, Georgia. “We want to save democracy and continue to have these rights that we’ve had for years. We expect it now. This is part of our life, our children, our legacy, and we want to make sure it’s preserved. It’s in danger if (Harris) is not elected.”

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Clinton, who received a rapturous reception when she addressed the convention Monday night, made reference to the 2016 election and reminded Americans that “progress is possible, but not guaranteed.” She urged Democrats “to worker harder than ever” in the coming weeks to elect Harris and to not get distracted or complacent or splinter into factions of “us vs. them.”

Harris has the character, experience and vision to lead the country, Clinton said. “Kamala cares about kids, families and America,” she said. “Donald only cares about himself.”

Christy Rahrig, a delegate from Zanesville, Ohio, who wore a T-shirt that read “Empowered Women Empower Women,” said Clinton’s loss to Trump taught Democrats that they can leave nothing to chance this year. The energy this election is vastly different from eight years ago, Rahrig said.

“There is a lot more support behind Vice President Harris based on what happened in 2016,” she said. “We don’t want that to happen again.”

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Women are canvassing for Harris much more aggressively than they did for Clinton, Rahrig said, and that work is starting at the grassroots level, especially in smaller towns hit hard by COVID-19 and communities that are economically disadvantaged.

“Now that we have another female nomination for president, I think America is conscientious enough to know that we need to move in the right direction, this time with a female president,” she said. “Because we already know what happened with the other nomination. We can’t do that again.”

With Harris as the Democratic nominee, “the culture is different, the environment is different,” said Rose Penelope Yee, a delegate from Redding, California. “There is so much at stake for women right now as opposed to 2016.”

This time, there is no complacency among voters, Yee said.

“Even non-Democrats who are sitting on the fence have learned that we can’t take anything for granted, that every vote counts,” she said.

Though it’s good for Democrats to celebrate Harris this week and all that her nomination represents, “the real work begins when we all go back home,” Rahrig said. “We have 70-some-odd days left until Nov. 5, so the work continues until Election Day, and then the work continues to go after Election Day.”

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Even if Harris make history as the nation’s first female president, Rahrig said, the work doesn’t end.

“We don't take any time off,” she said. “We have to keep moving forward to continue perfecting the union that we all envision having for our future and for our future generations.”

Michael Collins covers the White House. Follow him on X @mcollinsNEWS.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats get second chance at electing first female president