CHICAGO – Democrats came into their national nominating convention riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm.

And the four-day convention – that culminated with Vice President Kamala Harris’ speech accepting the nomination – did nothing to blunt the party’s momentum.

Democrats have been riding high in the month since Harris replaced President Joe Biden atop the party’s 2024 national ticket, as the vice president instantly enjoyed a rise in public opinion polling and a surge in fundraising.

Billy Shaheen, the well-known New Hampshire attorney, longtime party activist, and one of the Granite State’s two committee members on the Democratic National Committee, told the Monitor that the mood at the convention was “unbelievable.”

“I’ve been doing these things off and on since 1976 with Jimmy Carter,” he said. “To see the magic and the unity in this party, it’s never been matched.”

Pointing to a party that is ripe with cohesiveness as it aims to prevent former President Donald Trump from returning to the White House, the husband of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said “if anyone’s had any grudges or disappointments, they’ve been put aside.”

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a longtime friend to New Hampshire Democrats, put it a different way.

“Having energy, having momentum – I’d much rather be our campaign than their campaign,” he said.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from a month ago when the party was divided over the president’s insistence at the time that he would stick with his 2024 bid.

Biden – in a blockbuster announcement – ended his re-election bid on July 21, after his disastrous late June performance in a debate with Trump fueled questions over whether the 81-year-old president was physically and mentally able to handle another four years in the White House. It also sparked calls from within the Democratic Party for him to drop out of the race, which eventually rose to a crescendo and convinced the president it was time to step aside.

“I am a surrogate for her, a very proud surrogate,” said U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another relatively high-profile national Democrat who’s no stranger to the Granite State. “I’ve been already to New Hampshire, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania.”

He said the party shift is palpable. 

“The good news is when I was a surrogate for President Biden, it was a little bit more rough going,” Khanna said. “I was one of the few people along with  Gavin Newsom and others who was out there. Now, the whole party is out there. So, she’s got the whole party mobilized, energized.”

It’s been 24 years since a Republican carried New Hampshire in a presidential election, but last month surveys indicated a margin-of-error race between Biden and Trump for the state’s crucial four electoral votes. Since Harris succeeded Biden as the party’s nominee, it’s back to a single-digit lead for the Democrats in the latest polls.

“New Hampshire will always be in play,” Shaheen said. “You never take New Hampshire for granted. In New Hampshire you’ve got to earn your vote every day.”

He acknowledged that last month “we were worried because we were concerned about Joe.”

“I was prepared to go the distance with him. I was happy he made the decision he made. It was totally unselfish,” Shaheen said.

U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, the six-term Democrat who represents New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District that includes Concord, told the Monitor she’s “100%” certain that her good friend – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former congressman whom Harris named two weeks ago as her running mate, will campaign in the Granite State.

“And I can’t wait to welcome him,” she added.

While the convention was centered during the day at Chicago’s McCormick Place, a large convention center along Lake Michigan, and at the city’s United Center arena in the evening, the New Hampshire delegation’s breakfasts at the Westin Hotel along Michigan Avenue in the city’s tony Miracle Mile district saw plenty of action.

The delegation attracted a number of well-known Democratic politicians who likely have future national ambitions. That list included Booker, Khanna, Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg.

“The people who visited the New Hampshire breakfasts and the speeches they gave were remarkable,” said James Demers, a longtime Democratic activist, strategist, and a top Granite State lobbyist.

Demers, who was a major supporter and surrogate for Biden in New Hampshire, pointed to what he hoped would be a Harris victory over Trump in November.

“While it’s likely it’s going to be eight years before any of them will have an opportunity to run for president, we saw some magnificent future presidential candidates stop by,” Demers said.

Just as was the case during the delegation breakfasts at the 2016 – when some of the top speakers in Philadelphia ended up running for the 2020 presidential nomination – it’s likely that some of the politicians speaking and mingling with the New Hampshire delegation this week will launch White House bids down the road.

The heavy political traffic appeared to be an indicator that New Hampshire’s role as a key early state will continue in the Democrats’ nominating calendar – after a very rough ride in the 2024 cycle which culminated with an unsanctioned first-in-the-nation primary for the Democrats and a write-in effort to make sure Biden was victorious.

“Clearly national leaders recognize New Hampshire as an early state. And the write-in campaign that New Hampshire had did not go unnoticed,” Demers said. “That New Hampshire Democrats stepped up demonstrated just how serious they take this role even if they have to write in a candidate’s name. So, I think everybody recognizes that one way or another New Hampshire is still going to be early.”

Khanna, asked about a potential White House run in the future, turned the spotlight back to the 2024 race and making sure Harris tops Trump.

“The most important thing is that we win this election and I’m sure there will be some strong role that I’ll play,” he said. “But until we defeat Trumpism, there’s nothing else that really matters and that is my focus. And if we don’t defeat Trumpism, were going to be in a world of hurt because there’s going to be years of Republicans in charge. So the key for anyone who has any kind of future ambitions is we need to stop Donald Trump.