After the excitement sparked by the Obamas Tuesday night, Democrats will try to keep to momentum going when vice presidential nominee Tim Walz headlines the third night of speakers.
He'll be joined earlier by another former president -- Bill Clinton -- as well as Nancy Pelosi and Pete Buttigieg.
Photos: 2024 Democratic National Convention
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Mississippi delegate Kelly Jacobs arrives at the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
Wes Moore, rising party star, gets prime-time spot
Conventions are also about parties identifying those they view as future leaders.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's coveted speaking spot tonight will not go unnoticed.
His team said this night is about the future, forward momentum, and he is grateful to be a part of that.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore speaks prior to remarks by President Joe Biden, at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland, Sept. 14, 2023.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
He knows Democrats need to show they are delivering actual results, and he thinks he has a story to tell there. A senior staffer to the governor told ABC News he will focus on the Key Bridge collapse and talk about what Biden and Harris did to support his state.
Moore also has a personal relationship with Walz, who reached out to him when he first won and has acted as a sounding board for the governor.
-ABC News' MaryAlice Parks
4:00 PM EDT
The original 'smoke-filled room'
As I reported on Monday, political conventions in Chicago have a long and storied history. And some of that history can still be found today.
At the 1920 Republican National Convention, the GOP couldn't decide on a presidential candidate to save their life. After four rounds of balloting on June 11, no candidate had come close to clinching a majority of delegates. That night, a group of party leaders convened in Room 915 of the Blackstone Hotel and decided that Ohio Sen. Warren G. Harding would be an acceptable compromise choice. The following day, after a few more deadlocked votes, delegates decided to follow their lead and switched their votes to Harding, who won the nomination on the 10th ballot.
Those party leaders didn't technically have the power to nominate Harding themselves, but a popular image soon emerged of Republican elites secretly pulling the strings to get their preferred candidate elected. As an AP reporter put it (probably exaggeratedly), "Harding of Ohio was chosen by a group of men in a smoke-filled room early today as Republican candidate for president." The phrase "smoke-filled room" captured the public's imagination and quickly became shorthand for when party leaders coordinate behind the scenes to anoint a candidate.
History buffs will be pleased to learn that the "smoke-filled room" still exists today! Although the room (along with the whole hotel) has been completely renovated, the original fireplace is still there, and the room is decorated with political paraphernalia. If you have the coin, you can even stay there yourself! When I visited on Monday, the room was vacant, but it was booked for Tuesday through Saturday. But it isn't a political bigwig who's staying there this week — it's apparently a musician!
Room 915 at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, where, in 1920, Republican leaders brokered a compromise to nominate Warren G. Harding — giving rise to the phrase “smoke-filled room.”
Nathan Rakich/ABC News
—538's Nathaniel Rakich
3:57 PM EDT
John Legend to perform at DNC Wednesday night
Singer John Legend and percussionist Sheila E. will perform at the DNC Wednesday night. They were photographed in the United Center rehearsing ahead of the convention’s third night.
Musician John Legend and percussionist Sheila E. rehearse on the third day of the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Musician John Legend rehearses on the third day of the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Percussionist Sheila E. rehearse on the third day of the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
3:56 PM EDT
Vance says DNC 'vibes' are not reaching voters
In an interview on "Fox and Friends" on Wednesday morning, GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance said the DNC's "vibes" weren't working and reaching people, and suggested there is division within the Democratic Party.
"I don't think it's working very well, Ainsley, obviously, I'm not the target audience here, but when you have Barack Obama, the former democratic president of the United States, sitting there and making his big speech, and Kamala Harris is 90 miles away, I think it suggests that their party is not especially unified," he said.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives to speak on third day of the Republican National Convention, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee.