The NMI delegates to the Democratic National Convention pose for a photo at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
WEARING leis, mwars and traditional island attire, the NMI delegates to the Democratic National Convention at United Center in Chicago, Illinois last week caught the attention of Vogue magazine, which covered the four-day event.
On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Vogue posted a photo of the NMI delegation: NMI Democratic Party Executive Director Nola Hix, Party Vice Chair Luella Marciano, Committeewoman Tina Sablan, CNMI Labor Secretary Leila Fleming-Staffler, Mike White, Angelo Villagomez, Sen. Celina Babauta, Joan Flores-Reyes, Bob Schwalbach with special guests Edz Villagomez and Lisa Whitehurst.
In a media release, the NMI Democrats said they “made quite an impression” during the national convention.
“You could also feel the positive momentum when President Biden passed the torch to his Vice President … during Day 1 … of the convention,” Marciano said. “It was a noble thing to do, and the level of respect expressed towards President Biden from the guest speakers, and the nominees [Kamala Harris and Tim Walz] really solidified unity in our party which is so important during these trying times,” Marciano said.
“The convention broadcast during Day 2, which included each state’s roll call brought attention to the NMI and they were a crowd favorite to viewers in the arena with their delegation’s outfits, and with their roll call speech. The NMI was featured for their speech on social media platforms like Threads, TikTok, NowThis Impact on Facebook, Instagram, and X. They were also featured on CNN, and NPR with a double feature in Vogue magazine focused on their island attire worn at the convention,” the NMI Democratic Party said in its media release.
It quoted Hix as saying, “This year was fun because I had some time to prepare. For months, I had been collaborating with vendors, and executive directors from all 57 state-parties to come up with convention swag ideas, activities, and events to make our trip an epic one. As for my 30-second speech, I finished it during my twenty-two hour flight to Chicago. The goal was to bring the focus to climate change, and so I’m glad people were receptive because we need to do more to protect our Mother Earth.”
