Election 2024 updates: RFK Jr. planning to leave 2024 race by end of week: Sources

Four Illinois voters sat down with ABC News at the start of the Democratic National Convention to discuss Biden's bombshell decision, the rise of Harris as the party's nominee and her possible historic path to the presidency.

Edgar Diaz, a 43-year-old moderate Democrat who lives in Chicago, told ABC News he was relieved when President Joe Biden stepped aside. "I think he's realized that, 'Hey, you know what? Now it's time to step aside and let somebody like Kamala Harris step in,’” he said.

Grace Walters, 25, said she was encouraged by the energy around the vice president’s campaign. “It became less about vote for us because we're not them, and more vote for us because we're doing X, Y and Z -- and that is always an easier thing to get behind,” she said.

But David Spada, a 53-year-old conservative Republican, asked those planning to back the Democrats whether they were concerned that voters did not get to choose their own candidate.

"Shouldn't the voters pick who the candidate is for president, not just the party?" Spada asked.

-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler

Vice President Kamala Harris is setting out to achieve three key objectives in her highly anticipated Democratic National Convention speech Thursday night, according to a campaign official.

Harris intends to highlight her background -- she was raised by a working mother in a middle-class neighborhood -- to show she shares the experiences, challenges, and values of middle-class families.

She will also detail her journey to becoming a prosecutor in order to protect others -- like survivors of sexual abuse or homeowners impacted by the foreclosure crisis -- a campaign official told ABC News.

Harris will then set out the dangers posed by former President Donald Trump's campaign, specifically, the Project 2025 agenda. The vice president will look to contrast that with her “New Way Forward” agenda, the campaign official said.

-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie, and Fritz Farrow

Former President Donald Trump spoke behind bulletproof glass at his rally in North Carolina on Wednesday as new security measures are being put in place after the assassination attempt against the former president.

Trump was surrounded by the glass barriers as he addressed supporters in Asheboro. The event marked his first outdoor rally since the shooting on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, during which Trump and two others were injured and one person was killed.

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler

Robert Kennedy Jr. is planning to drop out of the race by the end of this week, sources familiar with the decision tell ABC News.

Sources say that Kennedy is leaning toward endorsing former President Donald Trump, though the sources cautioned the decision is not yet finalized and could still change. One source added that the hope is, in part, to finalize things quickly in order to try to blunt momentum from the DNC.

Kennedy is set to address the nation on Friday, his campaign said earlier Wednesday.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Will McDuffie, Olivia Rubin, John Santucci and Katherine Faulders