Dispatches from the DNC: Alaskans in Philadelphia - Day 1

ADN reporter Erica Martinson is in Philadelphia covering Alaskans and Alaska issues at the Democratic National Convention. 

Here's the Bern

Updated, 7 p.m. Monday (Alaska time)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken the stage to a roaring crowd of excited supporters. Eighty-two percent of Alaska Democrats voted for Sanders in the state's caucus.

Sanders is the clear rock star, crowd-pleaser of night one. Every line is an applause line. See his prepared remarks here.

Hushed

Updated, 6:45 p.m. (Alaska time)

As the first night of the DNC nears its end, a group of delegates started up a chant, and booed repeatedly during mentions of supporting Hillary Clinton. "Tax Wall Street," was the first chants during Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's speech.

Now, however, nearby delegates are shushing the dissenters.
Warren called GOP nominee Donald Trump's campaign a "late night infomercial" and mocked his trademark "goofy hat." As Warren closed out her remarks, convention volunteers  began passing out Bernie signs, an indication that the man most Alaska delegates are here to see will soon take the stage.

First lady

Updated, 6:35 pm. Monday (Alaska time)

First lady Michelle Obama came onstage to the most raucous applause of the night, the Alaska delegation on their feet.

"We know that our word and actions matter, not just to our girls," but to children the world over, Obama said, making a pointed tie to the controversial statements by GOP nominee Donald Trump that have been playing throughout the night.

Only a handful of Alaskans — many of them Sanders delegates — cheered when Obama urged support for presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Off to the race

Updated, 6:30 p.m. (Alaska time)

The Democratic National Convention got off to a wild start — rough, perhaps, for some fans of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who booed when at an afternoon meeting he told delegates they should vote for presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the fall.

Alaskans were also a bit struck by the heat wave heading through Philadelphia. At one point in the afternoon, the National Weather Service documented a heat index of 109 degrees. The temperature dropped dramatically later in the evening as the skies broke open. A heat warning was replaced with a flash flood warning as the convention's opening night carried on.