(TND) — The Democratic National Convention begins Monday and will give Vice President Kamala Harris her biggest platform yet to get her views across to voters, just a month after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and pushed Harris to the top of the ballot.

For four days, delegates and party officials will fill the United Center in Chicago.

Meanwhile, protesters are expected on the streets outside the arena, including those opposed to the Biden administration’s support for Israel and its war in the Gaza Strip.

Biden is expected to deliver a speech on the opening night of the convention that could amount to a passing of the torch.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to deliver speeches this week.

Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is expected to take the stage on Wednesday to accept his nomination.

And Harris will headline the final night of the convention.

Here are some topics to keep an eye on at the DNC.

INTRODUCING: HARRIS

Although Harris served as vice president, she remained very much in the background behind Biden, said Todd Belt, the political management program director at George Washington University.

“The campaign must introduce the candidates to America,” Belt said Sunday by email.

This often occurs in speeches by high-ranking party members, including former presidents and their spouses.

Studies have shown that for those making their final decisions in the final weeks of their election, candidates’ personal qualities are most important, Belt said.

“Monday night is meant to be a sort of passing of the baton from Biden to Harris,” Tyler Johnson, a politics professor at the University of Oklahoma, said by email. “I’m curious to see the extent to which Biden is part of the narrative as the convention progresses. To what extent do speakers talk about the administration’s successes and praise (Harris’) role in them, rather than trying to create distance between her and the president to make her her own woman or to avoid his negative aspects?”

SUBSTANCE, SHOW & SPEAKERS

“I look forward to more policy announcements from Harris,” Michael Crespin, a politics professor at the University of Oklahoma, said by email on Saturday. “This week she unveiled an economic agenda that seems to appeal to more progressive voters with ideas around housing and price gouging. I’m excited to hear more about her foreign policy, especially on issues that divide the party, like Israel and Gaza.”

Belt said the Harris-Walz campaign team needs to discuss its policy proposals in concrete terms.

To a certain extent, this will also be apparent from the party programme that was drawn up at the party congress. But the press and the public are becoming impatient, he said.

“The Biden and Trump campaigns have focused primarily on attacking each other. But you can’t beat something with nothing,” Belt said. “Elections are about the future, and Harris and Walz must explain how an America under a Harris administration will improve voters’ lives.”

Belt’s GW colleague Peter Loge said that in addition to the political discussions, there would also be much more about performance.

“Conventions are the political equivalent of professional wrestling,” Loge, director of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, said by email. “They’re more spectacle than politics. Politics happens, but that’s not really what it’s about. It’s about the show about politics.”

Loge said he would also monitor Trump’s reaction in real time.

“He and his team could give the Democrats a chance and use the week to regroup and refocus a campaign that requires the discipline of a puppy in a fire hydrant factory,” Loge said. “I’m skeptical they’ll do that, but it’s worth watching.”

Keynote speakers will include Biden, Obama and both Clintons.

“I’m actually more interested in some of the next speakers like Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg and others,” Crespin said. “Some of these speakers will be lobbying for potential Cabinet posts and, should Harris lose in 2024, the 2028 nomination.”

Protests vs. Unity

Loge said he is also interested in how the media, the Democratic National Committee and the candidates respond to the protests.

As with every convention, there will be protesters at this convention.

“The Democratic National Committee, which runs the convention, has to balance the safety of delegates and candidates with the desire to put on a good show of united Democrats, not alienating the voters it needs, and the right to free speech,” Loge said. “How and if they find that balance will be worth it.”

Harris needs to be seen as strong, but not so strong that she provokes backlash or drives away voters she needs, he said.

Crespin said he was curious to see whether the protests would disrupt the Democratic Party’s planned message.

The party must be united, said Belt.

“Young voters and voters of color have been re-energized by the shift to Harris, and we need to maintain that momentum,” Belt said.

Any unrest and divisions, especially regarding Israel and the Gaza Strip, could endanger this unity, he said.

SWING

“Can the Democrats maintain their momentum?” asked Crespin.

After Biden decided to drop out of the race and endorse Harris, “the Democrats were in top form,” he said.

Harris is ahead in the polls and media coverage has been quite positive, Crespin said.

Typically, candidates’ poll numbers rise somewhat after the convention because of a week of positive news. One possibility is that Harris has already experienced this boost from the positive coverage following Biden’s exit.

According to Crespin, Trump did not experience a major upswing after the Republican Party Convention.

The shakeup at the top of the Democratic ticket partially overshadowed Trump’s attention after the convention, Crespin said.

Johnson said Harris and Walz had portrayed their campaign as a “joyful movement,” “while Trump and Vance, on the other hand, came across as dour or reprimanding.”

“I’m interested to see to what extent that sentiment comes across in the messaging,” Johnson said. “We know how motivating attacking Trump can be; that’s been the backbone of many Democratic efforts in elections over the last eight years. Will this convention be different in terms of tone, or will there be negativity, as is the case at most conventions?”