With the help of all 75 Connecticut delegates, former Vice President Joe Biden officially became his party’s presidential nominee Tuesday evening in an unusual roll call that featured videos from every state and U.S. territory.
With Gov. Ned Lamont and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin socially distanced beside him outside a Hartford fire station, firefighter union president Peter Carozza said firefighters put “their lives on the line every day to protect our nation.”
“It’s a badge of courage,” the former Waterbury firefighter said. “But while we are protecting your families, we need a president who is committed to protecting ours. And that’s Joe Biden.”
Carozza said Biden “has the courage we respect. And the commitment for working Americans we need now.”
He wrapped up his brief speech by saying “on behalf of our governor, Ned Lamont, I am honored to cast Connecticut’s 75 votes for our next president, Joe Biden.”
Connecticut was among the states to have no delegates committed to Biden’s former rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But many states held their primaries before Sanders dropped out of the race and the senator has hundreds of delegates for him at the Democratic National Convention.
After Connecticut announced its vote, Delaware, Biden’s home state, said it would pass so it could later provide the delegate votes to allow Biden the threshold of 1,991 votes to win the nomination.
The unconventional roll call meant local delegates could make their historic announcements with important state symbols in their background, such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., the iconic Las Vegas sign in Nevada and even Biden’s childhood home in Pennsylvania.
It also allowed the convention to continue its theme of inclusiveness and its effort to appeal to average American voters by featuring rank-and-file Democrats, like Carroza, and teachers, nurses and small business owners.
Biden’s name was placed into nomination Tuesday night by Jaqueline Brittany, a security guard at the New York Times who operated the elevator during a Biden visit to the newspaper last year. It was seconded by U.S. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware.
The Democratic National Convention’s lineup of speakers Tuesday night included former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry and Dr. Jill Biden.
In a symbolic move, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seconded Sanders’ nomination.