The Democratic Party platform is a 92-page document detailing their beliefs and plans to campaign against the Republicans this fall. You can read the full document here.
Texas issues were included throughout the platform.
Tuesday morning, the Texas delegation in Chicago heard several speeches at their daily breakfast. One topic stood out: abortion.
“So think of what’s happening across our state to women; it’s inexcusable, and we have to fix it," said State Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Farmers Branch).
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With a series of laws, Republican state leaders nearly banned abortion except for a few very rare cases. In this year's party platform, the Democratic Party wants to return the state to the Roe vs. Wade standard from a few years ago, at "fetal viability," usually between 24 and 28 weeks into pregnancy. That may be a high bar for the traditionally Christian conservative state.
Texan Amanda Zurawski was one member of the group writing the platform. Earlier, she launched a high-profile legal battle against the State of Texas after she was denied an abortion in a high-risk pregnancy.
“Not only do we have an abortion ban, but we also have criminal penalties for doctors and medical professionals," said TikTok creator and another member of the platform committee, Olivia Julianna.
On immigration, Democrats have moderated this past cycle, forming their goals around a bipartisan bill that failed to pass Congress earlier this year after opposition from former President Donald Trump.
The Democratic platform calls for 1,500 more Border Patrol agents and 4,300 more asylum officers; emergency authority to deport people who did not cross at a port of entry; increased penalties for human smugglers; and 250,000 more family and job-based immigrant visas in the next five years.
“Our platform is very common sense. We need immigrants to sustain this country. But we need to have people coming into this country in a way that is fair and safe. And that keeps our communities that are already living here safe. And it keeps the immigrants coming into this country safe as well," said Julianna.
Last month at the Republican National Convention, Republicans rejected Democratic ideas and approved a Trump priority calling for the largest deportation effort in history. The party platform was reworked in the form of Trump's Make America Great Again Republican Party. It was more worker-focused and had milder language on same-sex marriage and abortion.
It was a bit different on the Democratic side. Their platform mentioned President Joe Biden more than 200 times, most of which was written before he dropped out of the race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
