Democrats cast wide night to undecided voters

The Biden campaign continued to use both progressive and conservative voices during the second night of the Democratic National Convention, in an attempt to capture support from undecided voters on both sides of the aisle.

"What Biden is trying to do is cast a really wide net and we'll see when votes are counted, whether that works," said Bill Barrow, a National Political Reporter for the Associated Press.

The newly named 2020 Democratic presidential Nominee Joe Biden, a more standard neoliberal centrist compared to other left-wing Democratic candidates, garnered more endorsements from Republicans like former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Cindy McCain.

"The video montage about Senator McCain and his personal relationship with Biden was a bit of a surprise," Barrow said. "Looking at it, it's really not a surprise, though, that Joe Biden himself would want something like that in his convention."

If elected Biden, 77, would be the oldest president to ever serve in office and Democrats are arguing his experience as a lawmaker and vice president position him as a person who can work across party lines to find common ground.

"So they're trying to sort of take advantage of what could be seen as a disadvantage of Biden, not necessarily matching every faction of a younger, increasingly progressive, diverse, racially and ethnically diverse party, as the Democrats are," Barrow said. "But then using what does come with his resumé behind just his demographic profile to sell him as an ideal president, ideal nominee to run against Donald Trump and to beat Donald Trump and then to put things back together."

Labor leader and activist Bob King and freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave brief nominating speeches for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who already conceded to Joe Biden after coming in came in second place during 2020 the primary.

Barrow said posts on social media are already criticizing the DNC's decision to only give AOC a one-minute time slot.

"Might there be some progressive griping? I'm sure there will be. I think it's hard to measure exactly how that shakes out in terms of votes in the Fall," Barrow said. "This does appear certainly in comparison to 2016, a more united party, even if it is Donald Trump as the main variable in that unification process."