Transitions. (still via YouTube/The Democrats)

CHICAGO—Delegates to the Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts came to a much different convention than the one they had signed up for. With caucuses and Democratic State Committee (DSC) votes long before Biden’s debate, essentially everybody representing the commonwealth had signed up with the president for nomination.

Delegates from Western Massachusetts had a range of emotions the day after Biden offered remarks. The convention had been, until July 21, the one that would renominate him, free from the strictures of a pandemic. They all expressed gratitude for Biden and many said they would gladly have renominated him. Yet, they also looked to the future and coming battle between Donald Trump and the Democrats’ nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I was thrilled to be selected as a Joe Biden delegate,” said Mary Olberding, who is also Hampshire Register of Deeds. “And, I mean, I like and respect him so much that I always knew he’d do the right thing, and if he had stayed in, I would have wholeheartedly supported him.”

Olberding, who was attending her first convention, came to Chicago as a pledged party leader/elected official (PLEO) delegate. She credited Biden with saving the American economy, citing the help the American Rescue Plan Act provided.

This reaction was typical among the delegates from Western Mass. The 413’s delegates to the DNC included district delegates, those elected at-large at the DSC and PLEOs.

Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, a delegate for the First Congressional district, said Biden’s speech hit the right note. It struck a balance between recognizing how far the nation has come since 2020 and how important this election is.

“I was just stunned and very appreciative of his humility and his understanding of where his place in history is, and that he walked the talk,” LaChapelle said. “Tomorrow is a much better day, and Joe Biden is a huge part of that.”

Biden spoke on the first day of the convention. Monday featured speakers that both underscored his accomplishments and the transition afoot. Such examples were former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016 to New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who first won office during 2018 midterms.

Longmeadow Select Board member Vineeth Hemavathi attended as part of a convention committee not as a delegate. He observed that Monday afforded an opportunity to lift up “legends” in the party like Biden and Clinton.

“I think that the crowd here in Chicago really gave them kind of reception they deserved,” Hemavathi said. “And so I think it was a beautiful way to start the convention.”

Hemavathi also observed that Monday was the only night that Harris would attend the convention other than her own big night on Thursday.

“Part of Joe Biden’s legacy is how he has put the resources and put all this weight behind her,” he said.

That speaks to the other side of the whiplash equation for these erstwhile Biden delegates.

The campaign of Vice President Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has not played up the history she will make. However, it is inescapable element of organization remained one through the convention. White, the color of suffragettes, was ubiquitous if not universal.

LaChapelle began her own political career in the wake of Trump’s victory over Clinton. She said it didn’t really hit her until she was Facetiming with her one year-old granddaughter the morning after Biden spoke.

“She squeaked to nominate the first female president of the United States. So, yeah, that’s when it hit me,” LaChapelle said, her voice breaking.

Luckily, the infant snapped her grandmother out of it by whacking the phone and doing other baby things.

“That’s history in the making,” she said of Harris’ nomination.

Olberding had a similar reaction. She recalled watching both parties conventions with her mother as a young girl. Her mother had also sparked Olberding’s interest in politics and her grandmother was born before women were guaranteed the vote.

Both instilled in Olberding an understanding of the importance to vote, something she had done with her own children.

Harris is not the first woman to receive a major party’s nomination. Still, the sense of relief Biden’s exit and the energy surging to Harris has brought Democrats, yes, joy. That goes with the history the vice-president will make if successful in November.

“When Kamala walked out on stage, after they played her song, Beyonce’s ‘Freedom,’ it was just so powerful,” Olberding said when Harris joined Biden Monday night. “I got chills, tears in my eyes.”