St. Thomas junior wide receiver Colin Chase describes himself as an open-minded person, someone willing to go outside his comfort zone. Two prime examples provide some proof.

Chase made the 50-minute commute from his home in Tustin, Calif., to attend St. John Bosco High School, leaving the house each morning at 6:30 at the start of a 12-hour day for the chance to play football for a nationally renowned program.

Fast forward to his senior year in high school, when Chase opted to forgo an offer from nearby University of San Diego to travel halfway across the country to play for the Tommies.

“I’m not going to take one route just because it’s comfortable,” Chase said.

St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso is the first to say the Tommies are all the better for it. He has been impressed with the 6-foot, 201-pound Chase from the time he arrived on campus, and is among many who believe Chase will be a key component to a revamped offense this season as he moves into a full-time starter’s role.

Chase made great strides as last season progressed, finishing with 19 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns. With standout receiver Andrew McElroy electing to leave via the transfer portal, Chase, along with graduate student receiver Jacob Wildermuth, will be counted on to give an offense that traditionally has been heavy on the run the ability to stretch the field.

Caruso does not anticipate a drop-off in production at wide receiver following the loss of McElroy.

“The way Colin played down the stretch, he was our most productive receiver last year — with everybody there,” Caruso said.

Following that up with a productive offseason offers the promise of even better days ahead.

“I was so impressed with the spring he had,” Caruso said. “I feel it’s kind of rude for me to say because I shouldn’t be. He lays down great work for two years. But he took it to a whole different level in the spring.

“He’s smooth, he’s confident, and he’s consistent with his routes. He’s what we call a friendly receiver. He makes himself available and friendly to the quarterback.”

Chase says he is thankful for the opportunity, as well as the support he has received from those around him.

“We have a new offensive coordinator, coach (Caleb) Corrill, who has been a great addition to our offense,” Chase said, “so I’m very excited for our game plans upcoming. We’ve got a great defense, so it’s been nice to go against the best defense in our conference every day in practice.

“I had a great mentor in (teammate) Jacob Wildermuth,” Chase said. “He took me under his wing and explained the offense inside and out. And he helped me sharpen my mental game, so he really prepared me for that stage.”

One focus for Chase during the offseason was to join with the other receivers in developing chemistry with a group of young quarterbacks that includes sophomore starter Tak Tateoka and sophomore backup Michael Rostberg.

“They push us to be better,” Chase said, “and we push them to be better.”

That type of leadership is among the intangible traits Caruso and staff look for while on the recruiting trail.

Tommies wide receiver coach Jared Dodson, who recruits California, began showing interest in Chase during his senior season in high school. The two developed a rapport, and Chase was intrigued by Dodson’s description of a program he initially knew very little about.

Then, after meeting with Caruso, “I was just locked in after that,” Chase said.

“A head coach like coach Caruso, he develops players on the field and off the field,” he added. “Whether that’s helping you on the football field or later on in life, it’s developing those skills to be a strong person.

“And the culture; I’ve never been around a group a guys who have been genuinely close — just a selfless program.”

Thus, his instincts were correct when he chose the Tommies, just as they were when he made the sacrifices needed to play for St. John Bosco.

“Similar program as it is to here,” Chase said. “Iron sharpening iron every day — going against the top talent. Very blessed to take that from there and translate over here.”

Seema Mehta | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

Vice President Kamala Harris has enjoyed a monthlong burst of energy and optimism among Democrats who believe she is the party’s best chance of defeating former President Donald Trump in November. But once the balloons dropped after Harris claimed her party’s nomination on Thursday, the reality set in that there is much work to be done in coming weeks in what is still expected to be a razor-thin contest.

“On Friday, I’m going to give you leave to take a three-hour nap. Eat a damn vegetable. And then sign up for shifts to get people registered to vote, to knock on doors, to hold events, to pull people in and make a seat at the table for people who are so busy they’re not consuming the information like we are,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told California delegates over breakfast. “We can do this. I’m more optimistic than ever. So lace up your Chucks, hit the doors, make room at the table, and let’s get it done.”

Polling shows that while Harris fares better than President Joe Biden against Trump, it’s still an incredibly close race that will come down to a small number of voters in a handful of battleground states.

“She put Democrats back into the game to where it’s kind of a toss-up,” said John Anzalone, Biden’s lead pollster in 2020, at an event hosted by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics on Wednesday. “Step 2 is always the most difficult one.”

“We’ve seen it in every presidential campaign, and Step 2 usually happens post-conventions, post-Labor Day, when the bell rings,” he added. “That is like the battle for the slim universe of — you can call them anything you want: persuasion voters, swing voters, independent voters — and it’s pretty small. And that’s where each side [spends] a billion dollars.”

Harris has enjoyed a crush of positive news coverage and Democratic enthusiasm since Biden decided in late July to not seek reelection, her party quickly coalesced around her as their nominee, she named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate and then accepted the nomination in front of thousands of jubilant Democrats at their party’s convention in Chicago.

The Olympics also consumed significant media attention during this period, leading to Trump largely being relegated to the sidelines (aside from when he falsely claimed — in a room full of Black journalists — that Harris recently “happened to turn” Black).

But many Democrats acknowledge that this sunny period can’t continue unchecked until election day.

“At some point the honeymoon phase will be over,” said Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell, an alternate delegate who lives in Sacramento County. “What I think is really shocking is how good of a honeymoon phase that she’s had.”

There were fears among Democrats that their euphoria over the last several weeks could lead to complacency.

“There’s so much momentum,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in an interview. “The task now will be to bottle it up and use it to propel us through the next 10 or 11 weeks, through election day.”

The general election campaign traditionally starts after Labor Day. And there is a presidential debate scheduled on Sept. 10 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Walz and GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance, a senator from Ohio, will face off Oct. 1 in New York City.

“I have jokingly said to a couple of people, ‘I sure wish the election were Tuesday,’” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell. “I think we’ve been given our charge. … Don’t wait to be called. Show up.”

Indeed, a common thread among many of the convention’s most prominent speakers was how close the election would be, and the need to keep the foot on the gas pedal through Nov. 5.

“We only have 2½ months, y’all, to get this done. Only 11 weeks to make sure every single person we know is registered and has a voting plan,” former First Lady Michelle Obama told delegates Tuesday. “So we cannot afford for anyone, anyone, anyone, America, to sit on their hands and wait to be called. … You know what you need to do.”

Obama exhorted them to “do something.”

“Because, y’all, this election is gonna be close. In some states, just a handful — listen to me — a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner,” she said. “So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us. Our fate is in our hands.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote to Trump in 2016, urged delegates to act.

“We need to work harder than we ever have. We need to beat back the dangers that Trump and his allies pose to the rule of law and our way of life,” she said Monday. “Don’t get distracted or complacent. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Volunteer. Be proud champions for the truth and for the country that we all love.”

Clinton’s surprise loss was repeatedly invoked as a warning against being overly confident.

“We learned the hard way in 2016 that you not only have to win the popular vote, you have to win the electoral vote, and you can’t take any of it for granted,” former California Sen. Barbara Boxer told reporters. “So we learned some hard, hard lessons, and we paid the price with Donald Trump for four years, a nightmare.”

Boxer said she has been to every Democratic National Convention except one since the 1980s and said only the 2008 gathering when President Barack Obama was nominated had a similar level of “organic excitement.” But this year is extra-charged by the fear of Trump once again sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Former President Obama warned Democrats about the stakes.

“Now, the torch has been passed. Now, it is up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in,” he said. “And make no mistake, it will be a fight. For all the incredible energy we’ve been able to generate over the last few weeks, for all the rallies and the memes, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country.”

——-

(Times staff writer Noah Bierman in Chicago contributed to this report.)

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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CHICAGO — Along with a massive pep rally and a chance to hear from pop stars and their presidential nominee, Democrats attending and watching their party’s national convention got a lesson this week in how to approach persuadable swing or conservative voters who may not love Donald Trump, but have reservations about backing Kamala Harris.

The lesson came from Republicans, several of whom were given prime-time speaking slots to hammer the former president for his attempts to hold onto power after losing the 2020 election, and his behavior before and during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

These Republican speeches culminated in former Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s prime time Thursday speech. Kinzinger, who is from Illinois and was one of just two Republicans who served on the House committee that investigated the insurrection, said that our democracy was “frayed” by Jan. 6.

“That day, I stood witness to profound sorrow — the desecration of our sacred tradition of peaceful transfer of power, tarnished by a man too fragile, vain and weak to accept defeat,” Kinzinger said. “How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election?”

The crowd treated the former congressman to cheers of “USA! USA!” while waving American flags.

Kinzinger’s speech was one of the last of the convention, with only Maya Harris, Vice President Harris’ sister; North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Harris herself following him. First elected in 2010, Kinzinger served on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House. He was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, and did not seek reelection in 2022.

Kinzinger, who had endorsed President Joe Biden in January, said he has differences with Harris, but they pale in comparison to their shared values.

“I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy,” Kinzinger said. “And she is dedicated to upholding all three in service to our country.”

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The attack on the Capitol was also a central theme of former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham’s appearance on Tuesday. Grisham served as then-first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff before resigning in the aftermath of Jan. 6.

She said on Jan. 6, she asked Melania Trump if she should tweet that there was no place for lawlessness or violence, which Melania Trump refused to do.

Grisham said the former president called his supporters “basement dwellers” and was once upset on a hospital visit that the cameras were not solely focused on him.

“He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth,” she said.

Another former administration official, Oliva Troye, who advised Vice President Mike Pence on national security issues, said Trump undermined the intelligence community, military leaders and the democratic process.

“It’s his M.O., to sow doubt and division. That’s what Trump wants, because that’s the only way he wins,” she said. “And that’s what our adversaries want, because it’s the only way they win.”

Troye said her family values as a Latina growing up in Texas where the Fourth of July “was our most sacred holiday” made her a Republican.

“They’re the same values that make me proud to support Kamala Harris, not because we agree on every issue, but because we agree on the most important issue protecting our freedom. So to my fellow Republicans, you aren’t voting for a Democrat, you’re voting for democracy. You aren’t betraying our party, you’re standing up for our country,” Troye said

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan had a front-row seat to Trump’s efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election in his home state, and said Wednesday that Trump should not return to office.

“I realized Trump was a direct threat to democracy, and his actions disqualified himself from ever, ever, ever stepping foot into the Oval Office again,” Duncan said.

Harris is a “steady hand and will bring leadership to the White House that Donald Trump could never do,” he said.

“If Republicans are being intellectually honest with ourselves, our party is not civil or conservative,” he said. “It’s chaotic and crazy, and the only thing left to do is dump Trump.”

The Trump campaign’s counter-programming in Chicago has hammered home a message that Democrats are focusing too much on Trump and not enough on the issues that matter to voters.

“The Dems… are focused on Trump rather than inflation, the border, or public safety.” Brian Hughes, Trump campaign senior adviser, said Tuesday. “Obviously their convention is about who they are running against, rather than what they are running for. We’re here to remind folks what Donald Trump is running for.”

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©2024 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Samra Haseeb is still figuring out who to vote for in November.

On paper, Kamala Harris, who is Black and Indian, represents a new world of possibilities for women of color. She’s several firsts: A woman, a Black woman, a woman of South Asian descent and the first to serve as vice president. And if she defeats Republican candidate Donald Trump in November, she’d be the first woman to serve as president of the United States.

In theory, Haseeb said she’s excited about Harris representing her community, but she isn’t sure the vice president has really incorporated her identity in a positive way into her work.

“Representation alone will not save us,” said Haseeb, a 22-year-old Indian-American graduate student at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Unfortunately, I don’t feel like it’s enough for me to vote for her.”

For some young women of color, specifically Black and Indian women who share Harris’ ethnic identity, the presidential ticket is historic and emotional. And while Harris has been clear about her stance on other issues that are important to them, such as reproductive health, the economy and immigration, for others, this pivotal moment challenges the idea of representation. They are at a crossroads with what they say are Harris’ unclear intentions on a cease-fire in Gaza.

“It’s definitely hard to get behind her when she hasn’t done much to stop what’s happening in Gaza for over 10 months,” Haseeb said.

As polls suggest, Haseeb is like many women her age, trying to figure out what this political moment means for her and her generation. According to National Public Radio polls, among voters under 35, 1 in 10 remain undecided about whether to choose Harris or Trump. Still, according to a July Axios/Generation Lab poll, 45% of young people say they have an extremely or somewhat favorable opinion of Harris.

“She could be using this opportunity now that Joe Biden’s not running, to right some of his wrongs and try to win our votes back,” Haseeb added. “It wouldn’t be an excited vote, but it would be better late than never.”

Deyona Burton, a recent graduate of Florida State University and the director of programs for College Democrats of America, is balancing the joy of being represented in a presidential nominee as she works to get Harris elected and being sensitive to the issues her generation cares about.

“I’m from Florida — reproductive rights are on the ballot, the Supreme Court is on the ballot, Gaza is on the ballot — my humanity is on the ballot,” Burton said. “It was said in a speech — to love this country is to fight for this country and to fight for this country is to fight for all people — literally everybody.”

While many South Asian and Black women believe Harris is more likely than Joe Biden to hear their concerns, a lot of young voters want stronger, more equitable policies on Gaza before they cast their votes.

A survey done by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding earlier this year found that over 60% of the general public ages 18 to 29 favor a cease-fire in Gaza.

“We typically are more left or more progressive, I think that happens every generation, but for this generation specifically it has been a turning point,” Burton said.

“Gaza, for one, has been at the forefront of every conversation. And a lot of people go back and forth on whether or not you should care about it, whether or not you should speak on it, but I think my peers and my generation have set the precedent that if we do not speak out about horrendous acts, horrible things that are happening, what’s stopping it from happening to us?”

Though not a protester, Haseeb echoed the sentiments shared by pro-Palestinian protests that popped up during the Democratic National Convention.

“I feel like people are getting caught up in ‘oh she’s young, she’s different. But it feels very much like she’s going to be a continuation of Joe Biden and that’s not a win for women of color,” Haseeb said.

Burton, 21, acknowledged the divide on Harris, but is holding the historic nature of her candidacy closer.

This is Burton’s first convention. She was visibly excited Wednesday to be in Chicago working at the DNC as a staffer. “Seeing Black people in these spaces is amazing — I mean, how can we even begin to describe that experience?” she said as she ushered her boss, Pennsylvania’s Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, into the Black Caucus council on Wednesday at McCormick Place.

“I genuinely believe that seeing Kamala Harris in office could start to dismantle the tangible effects of racism,” Burton said. “Little black girls everywhere will know you can be anything — you could be a teacher, a lawyer. You can be in the military. You could be a doctor, you could be a professor. You could be the president of the United States. I think that it means a lot.”

Working alongside her peers and politicians, Burton said she understands why young people are hesitant to cast their votes. However, with Biden out of the presidential race, Burton thinks they should allow Harris to separate herself and not write her off prematurely.

“I think there’s a certain level of grace that needs to be allocated because (Harris) has the right to determine what her stance is on (Gaza), and not as the vice president,” Burton said. “She’s already called for a cease-fire and I understand that words are just words, but for me, that’s a win — that’s a step in the right direction. I don’t want it to be a red stain on her, because I believe that she should … be afforded the opportunity to do something about it.”

Laila Fierce, 15, and her mother, Naima Walker Fierce, outside a friend’s apartment before boarding a ride-share, Aug. 21, 2024. They attended the Democratic National Conference at the United Center. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Even those not yet of voting age are passionate about Harris’ prospects, such as  Laila Fierce, 15, who flew into Chicago on Saturday from Nashville with high hopes of attending the convention at the United Center. Laila and her mom, Naima Walker Fierce, secured credentials in time for one of the biggest draws of the convention: Barack and Michelle Obama.

While Fierce couldn’t stay for Harris’ acceptance speech at the United Center because of school, she said the experience would have been momentous. “It’s about time,” Fierce said about Harris as the Democratic nominee. “It’s about time,” Fierce said about Harris as the Democratic nominee. “As a country that’s as diverse as America, it makes no sense for the three branches of government to be mostly white.”

Fierce said that, as a woman of color, Harris understands the struggles of marginalized communities more than other politicians in D.C. “The tide is definitely shifting,” Fierce said. “She’s gaining momentum online. People can see Kamala is more authentic, and more people can relate to her.”

By the time she’s eligible to vote, Laila said she wants to see “major reforms.” Many Americans are looking to Harris to make that happen when it comes to issues like “discrimination ingrained deep into the government and society, systemic racism, mass incarceration, drug use and violence,” she said.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, at McCormick Place, 15-year-old Aisha Khan, who is Indian-American and attends Niles West High School in Skokie, was walking around the DNC as part of the Illinois Youth Press Corps.

Khan said she is hopeful she will witness history in November.

“It excites me to see someone that looks like me as both a woman and as a half-Indian woman,” she said. “While I don’t agree with her on many things, I’m just so excited to see someone be able to break so many barriers to become president.”

Aisha said she doesn’t think it’s necessary to agree with a candidate to vote for them and wonders if more people with the “power to vote” should use their votes as a strategic choice instead.

“It’s a choice we make to ensure that our voices are heard,” Aisha said. “Many people in my age group are paying attention to the war (in Gaza) right now and I feel like they’re holding politicians accountable — so while we may support voting for Kamala, that doesn’t mean we support all of her policies and (since we) can vote next time, we’ll make sure she earns it.”