Democratic national convention. Here are lester holt and savannah guthrie. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to nbc news live coverage of the 2020 Democratic National convention. Good evening, everybody. The pandemic has forced both parties to change their convention plans in a big way. The democrats are up first and they are going all virtual tonight. And already tonight weve seen speakers share remarks from remote locations across the country, many of them in their own homes. Many of the speeches are coming in from feeds provided by the dnc either live or on tape. Right now youre seeing some of that feed. Weve seen music, weve seen stirring tributes. The sort of things we would typically see in a regular convention. Whats a convention without big speeches and well have them tonight. Senator Bernie Sanders will take the mic in just a few moments from now and the headliner of the evening, former first Lady Michelle obama, she taped her remarks before tonights event. Were also going to dip in and give you some analysis about this Convention Week as well as what you, the voter, needs to know ahead of the november election. The first live speaker were expecting in this hour is michigans governor, gretchen whitmer. Shes expected to appear any moment now and a focus on one of the big themes tonight, the coronavirus pandemic. Over the course of the night the democrats will also be talking about the tens of millions of americans who are unemployed right now, also the Racial Injustice that has plagued our country. We have our team of correspondents and analysts in place to cover it all. Before Governor Whitmer takes the mic, lets check in with nbc news political director and moderator of meet the press, chuck todd. Chuck, what should we be listening and looking for this week . Well, look, joe bidens lead has been powered by antitrump fervor. This week is a chance for joe biden and Kamala Harris and the campaign to provide material, to make the case of why people should be voting for their agenda. Theyre doing well right now by being antitrump and were going to hear a lot of antitrump, but this week for it to be a success, they need people to start thinking about being for joe biden. Lets go michigans Governor Gretchen Whitmer is addressing the convention live. Lets watch. Hello, america. Im Governor Gretchen Whitmer or, as donald trump calls me, that woman from michigan. Tonight im here at uaw local 652 in lansing, michigan. Autoworkers in this union and across our state could have lost their jobs if not for barack obama and joe biden. In 2009 the Obama Biden Administration inherited the worst economic crisis since the great depression. The Auto Industry on the brink of collapse. A million jobs at stake. But president obama and Vice President biden didnt waste time blaming anyone else or shirking their responsibility, they got to work. They brought together union members, companies and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and they saved the Auto Industry. And wouldnt you know just a few months ago as our nation began battling covid19, autoworkers across michigan sprang into action. They started making protective equipment for doctors and nurses on the front lines. Let me break it down. President obama and Vice President biden saved these autoworkers livelihoods. Then these workers did their part to save american lives. Thats the story of this great nation. Action begets action. Progress begets progress. And when we Work Together, we can accomplish anything. After all, democracy is a team sport, especially now. Its crucial that we rally together to fight this virus and build our economy back better. From the jump, we took this pandemic seriously in michigan. We listened to medical experts, we planned, and with a lot of work from the autoworkers and too little help from the white house, we executed our plan. We saved thousands of lives. Just imagine if we had a national strategy, so everyone who needs a test gets one for free, so everyone has access to a safe vaccine, so our kids and educators have the resources they need to safely get back to school. With joe biden and Kamala Harris in the white house, we will. Joe biden and Kamala Harris will lead by example. It will be science, not politics or ego that will drive their decisions. They know the health of our people goes hand in hand with the strength of our economy. They know action begets action. Over the past few months, we have learned whats essential, rising to the challenge, not denying it. Weve learned who is essential too. Not just the wealthiest among us, not a president who fights his fellow americans rather than fight the virus thats killing us and our economy. Its the people with their own health at risk to care for the rest of us, they are the mvps. The nurses and the doctors, the utility workers, Truck Drivers and grocery clerks, the child care workers, the parents, the teachers, the mail carriers and the autoworkers. So many of these essential workers have lost their lives to covid. Nearly a thousand Health Care Workers. More than 170,000 people across america. Including a 5yearold girl named skyler from detroit whose mom is a Police Officer and dad is a firefighter. Generation after generation our nation has been defined by what we do or what we failed to do. So for skylar, for her parents and in the memory of all those weve lost, let us act. Let us heal as one nation. Let us find strength to do the work. Governor gretchen whitmer, the first speaker of this hour. The michigan governor has received a lot of attention certainly for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Also some criticism. Joining our coverage, senior washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell. Andrea, she said she didnt want to leave michigan even though her name appeared on that vp list. What is her future in this party . Oh, shes got a great future in the party and joe biden really, really liked her and was very inclined to go with her as a running mate. But first she has a lot of credibility for the way she handled the pandemic in michigan. Thats what she was really aiming at today tonight. That and also trying to reach out to those trump democrats, the autoworkers and other union members. They lost michigan by 10,000 votes and this is a critical state for them to reclaim and thats why she was given such a great platform tonight. Absolutely. And speaking of a big platform, tonight is Michelle Obamas night. She is essentially the keynote speaker. We await any moment someone you might not expect to see at a Democratic Convention, former republican governor of ohio john kasich. Thats coming up next as we keep our eye on that Democratic Convention feed. But we want to turn now for more analysis to nbc news krrkts senator claire mccaskill, former senator of missouri, and the editor of the national review, rich lowry. Senator mccaskill, youre a democrat so you get to go first tonight. Lets pick up on where andrea first left off. Its no accident that democrats are launching in michigan with the governor of michigan. That is a mustwin state. Democrats have to reclaim this rust belt midwest territory that you know so well. Yeah. I think youre going to see pennsylvania, youre going to see michigan, youre going to see wisconsin over and over again in this convention. But im struck by how this first night of the convention is dominated by women. The vast majority of the speakers are women, anchored by Michelle Obama. Joe biden enjoys a huge lead among women right now, and i think he is nodding to the fact that he knows that the path to the white house for him is paved with womens votes. And, rich, lester holt here while we wait for governor kasich. I just want to get your thoughts on what weve seen so far in terms of the production of this. No one knew going in what a Virtual Convention would look like. Yeah, i think its hard. Its hard to substitute the energy of a crowd of thousands of people, its hard for any speaker to really blow the roof off the joint. Good politicians feed off a crowd and thats just not going to be there. Its not going to be there all this week for the democrats and not next week for republicans either. Its going to be very interesting. Speaking of republicans, we are hearing from them right now actually. What you see on your screen is a spate of republicans who said they will vote for joe biden. About to speak is john kasich who ran against donald trump, hes been a frequent critic. Now hes going to make a direct appeal to republicans, disaffected republicans saying it is time to put country over party. A choice we make as individuals and as a nation about which path we want to take when weve come to challenging times. America is at that crossroads today. The stakes in this election are greater than any in modern times. Many of us have been deeply concerned about the current path weve been following for the past four years. Its a path thats led to division, dysfunction, irresponsibility, and growing vitriol between our citizens. Continuing to follow that path will have terrible consequences for americas soul, because were being taken down the wrong road by a president who has pitted one against the other. Hes unlike all of our best leaders before him who worked to unite us, to bridge our differences, and lead us to a united america. Im a lifelong republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. Thats why ive chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, Something Like this would probably never happen. But these are not normal times. Im proud of my republican heritage, its the party of lincoln, who reflected its founding principles of unity and a higher purpose. But what i have witnessed these past four years belies those principles. Many of us cant imagine four more years going down this path, and thats why im asking you to join with me in choosing a better way forward. I believe the best of america lies ahead, but only when we rediscovered our shared belief in the United States of america, for our childrens future, which can be bright, hopeful and inspired if we choose to make it so. Ive known joe biden for 30 years. I know his story of profound grief that has so deeply affected his character. I know joe is a good man, a man of faith, a unifier, someone who understands the hopes and dreams of the common man and the common woman. A man who can help us to see the humanity in each other. He knows that the path to a restored and rejuvenated america lies in respect and unity and a common purpose for everyone. Yes, there are areas where joe and i absolutely disagree, but thats okay. Because thats america. Because whatever our differences, we respect one another as human beings. Each of us searching for justice and for purpose. We can all see whats going on in our country today and all the questions that are facing us and the answers. But what we do know is that we can do better than what weve been seeing today for sure, and i know that joe biden with his experience and his wisdom and his decency can bring us together to help us find that better way. Im sure there are republicans and independents who couldnt imagine crossing over to support a democrat. They fear joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I dont believe that, because i know the measure of the man. Hes reasonable, faithful, respectful, and you know, no one pushes joe around. Joe biden is a man for our times. Times that call for all of us to take off our partisan hats and put our nation first for ourselves and of course for our children. When america chooses the right path and pulls together, like weve done so many times before, we can dream big dreams and we can see the top of the mountain as a United States of america with a soul that is a beacon of freedom to the entire world. Not a democratic convert, but for the time being he is putting his republican stripes to the side. Not a surprise for anyone whos followed him. Hes been a frequent and long critic of donald trump, but indeed there were some people probably looking double taking when they saw his name. This is a night well see the entire ideological spectrum of the democratic and sort of not the Democratic Party as well. Weve seen a republican now, a few republicans, and were also going to hear from Bernie Sanders who represents the left wing of the Democratic Party. So all bases covered tonight. Nbcs Garrett Haake has been talking to voters in milwaukee about the economy. Garrett, what have you been hearing . Reporter lester, i was talking to voters today, primarily africanamerican voters here, and i heard two themes over and over again. First, the lack of Economic Opportunity that still exists in this country, predating the pandemic, but so exacerbated by it, folks who perhaps supported donald trump, were willing to look at supporting him, hoping he would bring industrial jobs back, jobs back to some of these cities in the midwest who were left disappointed. And then the other thing that kept coming up in my conversation with africanamerican voters today was the killing of george floyd and the Police Reform movement that came out of it. A lot of folks participating in those protests, finding their voices for the first time politically, and choosing to engage in this moment in service of those goals and reaching out for more of that Economic Opportunity at a time when a lot of folks even in 2016 in these communities were willing to sit on the sidelines. And we should note, garrett, youre in the city that had thought it would be hosting this fourday event. Obviously it cant, but still being embraced. It was important for democrats to try to make a move in wisconsin and place that as a location. But as the host said this evening, they wanted to be responsible and have a Virtual Convention. Now both conventions, republicans and democrats, are largely virtual and thats the new normal we find ourselves in in the midst of a global pandemic. Lets go to nbcs Geoff Bennett whos been reporting on this controversy over the kbcut back and Service Disruptions at the post office and the president s campaign against mailin voting. This is a big issue right now. Geoff, what can you tell us . Reporter hey there, savannah. In the face of President Trumps unprecedented and unfounded attacks on mailin voting, House Democrats are fighting back. Nancy pelosi has summoned her members back to the hill where they will have a rare weekend saturday session and theyre going to vote on legislation that would provide the Postal Service with a cash infusion and roll back the changes put in place by the new postmaster general, a man named louis dejoy, who is a republican mega donor, prolific trump fundraiser, who put in place these changes that have slowed mail delivery. This is a huge issue because the Postal Service has now warned some 46 states that their mailin ballots may not be received in time. As you can see on our website, most of the country you can vote absentee without an excuse. Theres another point here thats important too because theres so much information about what the post office is prepared to do. Can they handle it, are they up to the job come november . The president says they can. But the Postal Service and post Office Workers ive talked to say they are 100 up to the job. They have the capacity to handle billions of greeting cards at the holidays. Im told that they can handle a few hundred million mailin ballots. Its a question not of capacity but of them being empowered to do the work and they want these onerous restrictions rolled back, savannah. Geoff, thank you very much. You had that map up there of the voting in various states, mailin voting. Chuck todd has been looking at his own map studying the electoral landscape, if we will, and the latest for us on those battleground states. Chuck, what do you see . Look, i think tonight were getting an education and i think youll see this all week. Theres two groups of swing states, theres the Northern Tier of swing states and the Southern Tier of swing states. In the Northern Tier its not an accident that the first person we heard from, the governor of michigan. Wheres this convention supposed to be taking place . In the state of wisconsin. Whos the first republican that they got to switch over and talk . The former governor of ohio. The point is you can see a pattern, particularly tonight, even with Michelle Obama who speaks really well to those obama trump voters, or Bernie Sanders who also speaks well to those working class white voters who voted for him in primaries but seemed to support trump in 16. There is a there is a sort of targeting with tonight and you can see it. It is in the industrial midwest. You can tell they really want to talk to those voters almost more so than any tonight. Not to say theyre not talking to swing voters in florida, arizona, north carolina, as this Convention Goes