Democratic National Convention day 3: Start time, speakers, how to watch and stream

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be in the spotlight Wednesday in Chicago, expected to headline the third night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Walz, who was selected over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, spoke to Pennsylvania’s delegation Monday morning and was booed by half the room for mentioning Wawa rival Sheetz. But showing why he was chosen as ticket’s No. 2, Walz also discussed what he’s seen from Harris during their brief time campaigning together.

“When you see Kamala Harris out on the stump, you see her connecting and you see her leaning on a knee and talking to kids, you see her petting that dog at the firehouse,” Walz said. “All the things you see her doing… showing kindness… lifting up someone, it is connecting across this county.”

Walz will be introducing himself to his largest audience yet, with upward of 20 million people watching at home. Voters and potential voters will likely also tune in on Oct. 1 to watch Walz debate Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“I can’t wait to debate the guy,” Walz said at a rally in Philadelphia earlier this month.

» READ MORE: Who is Tim Walz? A look at the VP nominee who beat out Shapiro

Also expected to speak Wednesday night is former President Bill Clinton. It will mark Clinton’s twelfth DNC speech, dating back to a small role out of the spotlight in 1980.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the third night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention:

Primetime programming at the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern Wednesday and last four hours.

The convention will stream live on the DNC’s official website and across all their social media channels. You can also stream it live on Inquirer.com, courtesy of the DNC:

In Philadelphia, live coverage will begin at 8 p.m. on WHYY. Both ABC and NBC will begin its live coverage at 9 p.m. tonight, while CBS will broadcast live from the DNC beginning at 10 p.m. Fox won’t air live coverage of the DNC.

CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and NewsNation will also offer live coverage starting hours before the event begins, each offering analysis.

C-SPAN will continue to broadcast every minute of the DNC, something the network has done for both party’s conventions since 1984. It will also stream coverage on C-SPAN.org and on the C-SPAN Now mobile app.

Comcast Xfinity X1 subscribers can watch all programming by saying “DNC” into their remotes.

Democrats have not yet released a full schedule of Wednesday’s speakers, but here are some of the bold-faced names expected to speak, according to the convention and media reports:

The Democratic National Convention will take place over four nights this week, from Monday to Thursday. Convention programming is scheduled to air live each night from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern.

On the final night of the convention Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver her official acceptance speech for the Republican nomination. It will be a much different experience than the speech she delivered at the 2020 DNC, where she was forced to speak to supporters through television screens amid the height of the COVID pandemic.

While political conventions have largely grown into television events designed to promote political parties and their leaders, the business of the convention includes formalizing a party platform.

There is also usually a formal vote of delegates to officially nominate the party’s presidential candidate, but Harris entered the week as the official nominee, thanks to a virtual vote of delegates taken earlier this month. Instead, Democrats held a ceremonial roll call Tuesday naming her the party’s presidential nominee.

» READ MORE: Kamala Harris’ nomination may be ceremonial, but it’s momentous for Black women and Asian Americans in Pa. delegation

Harris and Trump have agreed to at least one presidential debate. It will take place Sept. 10 in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center at 9 p.m., hosted by ABC News. Here’s what we know about tickets to the event.

It’s not the first time Philadelphia has hosted a presidential debate. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford debated at the Walnut Street Theatre in 1976, the first televised debate since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy famously faced-off in 1960. The city also hosted a vice presidential debate between George H.W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro at the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center in 1984.

Trump proposed two more debates in September, but the Harris campaign rejected those. Instead, the Harris campaign said it would be open to a second debate in October if Trump shows up on Sept. 10.