Local democrats gear up for convention

FORT WAYNE,Ind. (WANE) - The main goal is four more years.

"I’m really looking forward to nominating President Obama for that second term," said Carmen Darland, the 3rd District Chair for the Democratic Party and a delegate to the national convention.

The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte comes one week after the Republican Convention, and democrats are ready to respond to what they say are attacks on their party.

"What we’ve learned and what we’ve seen from their own interviews is that republicans goal from the get go was to make President Obama a one term president," said Jack Morris, the Executive Director of the Allen County Democratic Party.

Representatives from all over the country are coming together in Charlotte to nominate, with hopes of re-electing, President Obama as their official candidate for the race in November.

One hot topic has been the locations of both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Southern states are hosting both conventions, a region that in the past has tended to lean more conservatively.

"We have expanded the map in 2008," Darland said. "The president carried a lot of states that weren’t traditionally blue states, so we’re looking to re-create some of the things that we did."

Likewise, Morris said, "I think all the pundits would say Indiana’s looking to go back red. I don’t conceive that completely, but the truth is there will have to be a change in the tone. President Obama will have to regain the momentum he had in '08."

Just like last week's convention, the economy is at the top of the agenda.

"The president will focus a lot on jobs this week, and especially in Northeastern Indiana, this is something that’s been very important to us. At the peak of the recession, we did have some of the highest unemployment levels in the state, but with the presidents investments in our auto industry, we were able to support automotive parts companies as well as the GM facilities here in the Fort Wayne area," Darland said.

Local democrats say four more years will only solidify the progress already being made from four years ago.

"So what the president has to do is remind people that we are in a process," Morris said. "Yeah there’s been some stumbles because we all haven’t been working together, but we are moving forward."

There are 125 delegates representing the state of Indiana this week.

The convention kicked off with a welcome reception Sunday night, Monday convention goers will enjoy a Labor Day parade, and the First Lady and Vice President are set to be among some of the daily speakers beginning Monday.