But at the same time, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war creates an atmosphere in which divisions among the Democratic coalition will be on display both in the streets of Chicago, as happened when protesters temporarily blocked expressway access to O’Hare International Airport on Monday, and in meeting rooms at McCormick Place in August, where the party’s platform will be drafted.

Already, the key Midwestern states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin — which will be crucial to Biden’s success or failure in November — have seen substantial protest votes over the issue in their Democratic primaries.

“Certainly there’s a lot of pain on all sides in this country right now, and there are people in our party right now who want to voice that, and we need to give them the space for that,” Ken Martin, chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, said Thursday while in Chicago for the DNC event.

“We are a big family, which means sometimes we have family food fights like this. And the reality is we just have to keep working through them despite some differences.”

Meanwhile, Michigan Democratic Chair Lavora Barnes said the party has to work to persuade voters who cast “uncommitted” Democratic presidential primary votes, largely in protest of White House policy involving Israel and its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, to vote for Biden.

“We’re having conversations with these folks, explaining and helping them understand and remember who Donald Trump is (and the) reality of what would happen if Donald Trump got elected versus what will happen when you elect Biden and Harris,” Barnes said.

“And those are real conversations we’re having, where we’re reminding people of his record. Trump is not the answer to this issue, not at all, and we have to make sure we’re making that message heard.”

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