AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Democrats will kick off their convention tonight here in Chicago, a very different event than was being planned just one month ago.

GEOFF BENNETT: Vice President Kamala Harris is set to formally accept her party's nomination for president later this week.

But tonight we will culminate with a speech from the current occupant of the White House -- that's President Joe Biden -- who ended his own campaign for reelection last month, clearing the way for Harris.

AMNA NAWAZ: Laura Barron-Lopez is here on the convention floor.

She's been reporting on Harris' surge in polling -- Laura.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Amna and Geoff, from business owners to college students, Democrats have a new sense of hope around Vice President Harris' nomination.

And I have been speaking to voters here in Chicago to see if Harris can maintain that energy from now until November.

STEPHANIE HART, Owner, Brown Sugar Bakery: If he can make more of these, because people are coming.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: At the Brown Sugar Bakery on Chicago's South Side, a new item has generated a lot of excitement.

Sixty-eight-year-old Robert Hawkins Jr. showed up an hour before the bakery even opened to make sure he got a taste of what's called the Kamala Cake.

ROBERT HAWKINS JR., Chicago Resident: I had to come and get this particular cake because my wife wanted it.

I wouldn't have been able to sleep all night.

STEPHANIE HART: So, on the inside, it's a traditional German chocolate cake, but the whipped cream has caramel and chocolate in it.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Sixty-two-year-old Stephanie Hart is the owner of the bakery.

How did you feel about this election before she jumped into the race, when it was a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden?

STEPHANIE HART: Scared, nervous, worried.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Have the vibes changed in your neighborhood and your community since the race has changed?

STEPHANIE HART: Absolutely.

People are talking.

People are engaged.

People are hopeful.

People are getting involved.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Hart created the Kamala cake based on what Vice President Harris ordered when she paid a visit to the bakery in 2021.

STEPHANIE HART: And I'm so excited that we have a woman, that we have a Black woman, but that we have somebody that can actually get into a ring and shut them the hell up.

KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Do we believe in the promise of America?

(CHEERING) (APPLAUSE) KAMALA HARRIS: And are we ready to fight for it?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: For Democrats, that excitement is now being felt across the country.

Enthusiasm for Harris among Democratic voters has climbed dramatically compared to before President Biden dropped out of the race last month.

Trying to build on that momentum over the weekend, Harris campaigned across Southwestern Pennsylvania with her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, before heading to Chicago.

KAMALA HARRIS: And we will win.

And we will win.

(CHEERING) (APPLAUSE) LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Several recent polls have shown Harris now slightly leading former President Trump nationally and continuing to gain ground among voters in crucial battleground states.

MICHELLE CENTANNO, Bartender: You let me know if you want to keep that tab open.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Inside She-nannigans on Chicago's North Side, the city's first bar to employ all female bartenders in the 1970s, Michelle Centanno says the historic nature of Harris' candidacy is inspiring.

MICHELLE CENTANNO: I am really excited about this upcoming election because it's just a testament for how far we have come.

SKYE VERA, University of Illinois, Chicago: She embodies a couple of different identities, and with that, I feel like comes a different approach intrinsically.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Another crucial demographic Harris has made inroads with, young voters.

Skye Vera, a student at University of Illinois, Chicago.

SKYE VERA: It feels kind of like, OK, someone is in the running that looks like my neighbor or sounds like my aunt or reminds me of one of the teachers that I had when I was growing up.

It's refreshing and it's empowering.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Vera says two of the issues that resonate with her are LGBTQ rights and women's access to abortion.

She also says the Harris campaign has done a good job of reaching young voters on social media.

But the Biden administration's handling of the war between Israel and Hamas has her concern.

SKYE VERA: Because she is coming from an administration that wasn't very quiet about the support for one side, the side being Israel, that a lot of young voters don't see that changing, unfortunately.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's led thousands of protesters to show up this week to make their voices heard outside the DNC.

SAHIAN SOTELO, Protester: This year, I will be voting, but not for a presidential candidate.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And why not?

SAHIAN SOTELO: Harris, I believe she's still complicit.

I'm happy for her that she's running, but I'm not happy with the things that she's been doing.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Alex Otten, a Michigan voter, is open to supporting Harris if she changes her policy toward Israel.

ALEX OTTEN, Protester: I'm a single-issue voter in this regard.

The situation in Gaza and how the U.S. supports it ties into a lot of the problems we have at home.

And I can't ignore it.

It's not something I can say, oh, well, at least she will support gay marriage or at least she will support trans people.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: While protests remain peaceful today, author Craig Sautter still remembers what Chicago looked like when Democrats gathered here in 1968.

CRAIG SAUTTER, Author: There were helicopters overhead.

There were jeeps, army jeeps with barbed wires on them.

They come not to arrest people, but they're coming swinging their clubs, firing tear gas into the crowd.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Sautter was one of thousands of protesters fighting for civil rights and against the Vietnam War.

Scenes of violent clashes with police were broadcast around the country.

And fights amongst Democrats broke out on the convention floor.

CRAIG SAUTTER: I don't think we will see that at this convention.

It's going to be somewhat of a pep rally for Harris.

So the party's totally unified and ready to go.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: But back at the Brown Sugar Bakery, Stephanie Hart says there's still a lot of work to do before November.

STEPHANIE HART: I think it's important for us to not be fooled by polls, because I'm so glad she's up.

But let's not play any games.

There's a whole lot riding on this.

And we need to make sure every day we're talking to somebody about what's at stake in this race and get out and vote.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Geoff, while protests were mostly peaceful earlier today, protesters have now broken through the security barrier just outside the Democratic National Convention.

But, also, as you heard there, we spoke to two key constituencies, Black voters and young voters.

Harris will need both of them in order to win in November.

GEOFF BENNETT: We will certainly keep our eye on that security issue here at the convention.