The Harris show: Democratic convention a prime-time debut for surprise nominee

There's an old joke about politics in Kamala Harris's home state, where election campaigns, for various reasons, rarely ever include large political rallies.

"A California political rally is three people standing around a television set," says Dan Schnur, a political communications professor at the University of Southern California, sharing the classic gag.

His point being that the U.S. vice-president had little experience addressing boisterous partisan crowds until just a few years ago.

That's doubly true given her career trajectory, which consisted mainly of being a prosecutor, and then her state's top justice official, one of the less-partisan roles in government.

What a remarkable transformation this week will underscore.

She is headlining a marquee event in American politics, the Democratic convention in Chicago, that begins Monday and culminates three nights later with her accepting her party's presidential nomination.

It's a politically critical audition: A moment to present her case to a country that might not know her, or her policies, especially well.

"There's a real TBD element here that we're all watching," says Christopher Cadelago, who has covered Harris for years as a longtime political reporter in California. He is now Politico's bureau chief in the vice-president's home state.

She has yet to undergo key tests of a traditional campaign due to her unusually late entry into the race: No sit-down media interviews or debates so far, and she's only just started unveiling a platform.

What's clear is her party is suddenly more enthused. Since U.S. President Joe Biden's retirement announcement, Democrats are enjoying better polls, drawing bigger crowds, and raising far more money.

Some credit Harris's performance on the stump. Many in her own party have been surprised by her in one respect: Her public speeches.

"She's exceeded expectations," said Bruce Cain, a political scientist at California's Stanford University.

"You're going to find a lot of people in California saying, 'Oh wow – we never noticed that about her.'" 

Cain credits the stage experience she's gained as vice-president, after less than one term in the U.S. Senate. "Her four years [as VP] were used wisely," he said.