00:19

From my colleague Vivian Ho on the ground at the Democratic National Convention summer meeting in San Francisco.

The majority of the Democratic presidential candidates descended upon San Francisco on Friday for the Democratic National Convention summer meeting, giving the cliff notes version of their stump speeches in a “Meet the Candidates” event.

Senator Kamala Harris, with a clear hometown advantage, had supporters waving signs and chanting throughout the venue for hours before her speech. She spoke like a candidate who had complete control of an enthusiastic crowd, laughing and at ease at the podium while hitting all the usual points in her speech with strength and power.

The excitement from her speech leaked into Senator Bernie Sanders’ time, with the chants from her supporters still fading in the distance when he began speaking. He quickly picked up his typical intensity, as did Senator Elizabeth Warren, who drew cheers and a standing ovation with her “I got a plan for that” policy talk on a wealth tax.

Julian Castro and Senator Cory Booker scored well with the crowd as well, using humor to get the big cheers. Notably absent was former Vice President Joe Biden, the purported frontrunner in the race, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, another top-tier candidate. They sent in video messages, along with a number of others who could not make the summer meeting.



Ohio Representative Tim Ryan likened the event to speed dating, and he was not incorrect in his assessment. There are a lot of candidates, even with Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton using his speech to announce he was dropping out of the race. And at the end of the night, the DNC has to pick one of these candidates to go home with - though in this case, the night is actually for several more months.