Amy Klobuchar to be the face of Minnesota in a largely virtual Democratic convention

The Democratic National Convention that begins Monday in Milwaukee will include roughly 80 delegates from Minnesota, but few if any of them will actually make the trip to nominate Joe Biden for president.

Instead of the usual spectacle of confetti, hobnobbing and balloon drops, the convention will take place mostly in the virtual landscape of cyberspace, relegating all but the party's most high-profile figures to supporting roles at home.

Speeches will be streamed live during truncated two-hour evening programs, including one scheduled Monday night by Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a former Democratic rival for the 2020 presidential nomination.

State delegates who would otherwise be part of a sea of funny hats and signs will have to find other ways to mark a political tradition that has all but succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the convention for a month. While they won't be there to argue, caucus and cheer in person, the party said they're setting up other ways for delegates to celebrate and bond, from delivering groceries and supplies to communities hit by civil unrest after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis to delegate breakfasts and watch parties via Zoom.

It will be Ceri Everett's second time as a delegate to the national convention, having first attended in 2012 when Barack Obama was nominated for a second term in Charlotte, N.C. She said she will miss the camaraderie of her first experience, meeting Democrats from across the country, but she and other delegates were expecting this year to be different.

"We were really prepared as delegates going into this knowing it might not be the same as it had been in the past," she said. "I actually feel, in some ways, it's motivated us a little extra because we know that we are living under extraordinary circumstances."

The Minnesota delegates and alternates include St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Reps. Rena Moran and Dan Wolgamott. But with the traditional long evenings of speechmaking compressed to two-hour nightly segments, the convention will provide little in the way of a national platform for any up-and-coming DFLers.

In the past, newcomers to the party and candidates from the state could grab an earlier speaking slot. Peggy Flanagan, now the Minnesota's lieutenant governor, spoke at the 2016 Democratic convention as a state representative.

"Those speaking spots are really going to be premium opportunities and really few and far between compared to previous conventions," said Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin.

Klobuchar's opening night address will be the only prime-time appearance by a Minnesota public official, despite the state's newfound status as a battleground that President Donald Trump has vowed to flip. She will be part of a lineup that includes Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former first Lady Michelle Obama. The theme for the opening day — "We the people" — aims to help unite the different factions of the party and set the stage for the challenges facing the nation, from the COVID-19 pandemic to racial inequities that led to Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

A group called the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention plans protests outside the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee to bring attention to police reform. Also on the roster for the opening night are New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both critical of the Trump administration's response to the virus in their states.

For Klobuchar, the address will be a return to the national spotlight after she dropped out of the race on the eve of Super Tuesday and threw her support to Biden, helping him edge out Sanders and win the state's March 3 primary. It was a pivotal moment in the race that helped Biden all but clinch the Democratic nomination, elevating Klobuchar's status in the Biden camp.

The convention was originally scheduled in July at the larger Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, but the pandemic forced the party to downsize substantially. Biden, following a script his campaign has adopted in Minnesota and across the country, will accept the nomination Thursday in a speech streamed from his home state of Delaware.

The Minnesota delegates are scheduled to gather in person for a watch party at the Nicollet Island Pavilion, observing what DFL officials are calling "extensive safety precautions." Martin, who has participated in six conventions, said he's been having weekly calls with the state's delegation. He's still sensing excitement from activists, despite missing out on the usual convention festivities, which serve as an energizer and de facto kickoff for the November election.

"Conventions also are that pivot to the general election and they are used by the parties to really rally and motivate our base and get folks ready for the final push," Martin said. "There will be no lack of activity to really seize upon that energy coming out of the convention."