NMI delegates attending the Democratic National Convention pose for a photo at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
NMI delegates attended the Democratic National Convention last week at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, dressed in leis, muwars and traditional island dress, garnering attention from Vogue magazine, who covered the four-day event.
On Wednesday, August 21, Vogue magazine published photos of the NMI delegation: NMI Democratic Party Executive Director Nora Hicks, party Vice Chair Louella Marciano, Commissioner Tina Sablan, CNMI Labor Secretary Leila Fleming-Staffler, Mike White, Angelo Villagomez, Senators Selina Babauta, Joan Flores Reyes, Bob Schwalbach, and special guests Ez Villagomez and Lisa Whitehurst.
In a media release, the NMI Democratic Party said it “made quite an impression” at the national convention.
“I also felt a sense of positive momentum when President Biden handed the baton to his vice president on day one of the convention,” Marciano said. “It was a noble gesture, and the level of respect shown to President Biden by guest speakers and candidates (Kamala Harris and Tim Walz) really solidified the unity of our party, which is so important during these challenging times.”
“The broadcast of the convention on Day 2, including the roll call from each state, brought attention to NMI, and the delegate outfits and roll call speeches were a hit with the arena audience. NMI speeches were featured on social media platforms including Threads, TikTok, Facebook’s NowThis Impact, Instagram and X. They were also featured on CNN and NPR, and Vogue ran a double feature highlighting the island outfits worn at the convention,” the NMI Democratic Party said in a media release.
The article quoted Hicks as saying, “This year was fun because we had more time to prepare. For months I worked with vendors and executive directors of all 57 state parties to come up with ideas for convention memorabilia, activities and events to make our trip amazing. I polished my 30-second speech on the 22-hour flight to Chicago. I’m glad people embraced it because the goal was to focus on climate change, and we need to do more to protect Mother Earth.”