Programming, guests and key topics: what to see on the first night of the Democratic Convention

Changes expected to US party conventions 2:14

(CNN) - The Democratic National Convention (CND) begins this Monday with a two-hour virtual event built on a theme of unity.

It will be a convention unlike any other: The coronavirus pandemic forced Democrats to scrap the Milwaukee in-person convention they had planned.

• America's Political Conventions Explained: Why Are They Still Running and What's Happening in 2020?

Instead, participants will deliver speeches from locations across the country and without the large in-person crowds traditionally seen at these events. All eyes will be on how well the transition to a virtual convention works.

The four-night event begins as former Vice President Joe Biden's leadership shows signs of abating. In a CNN poll released Sunday night, 50% of registered voters backed Biden compared to 46% for Trump, which is right in the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The main guests of the evening include former US First Lady Michelle Obama, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and a Republican, former Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Obama and Sanders are two of the most popular figures in Democratic politics. Kasich, a former presidential nominee, is an iconic anti-Trump Republican, a public Biden hopes to win over in November.

This is what you will be able to see starting at 9 p.m. Miami time, this Monday, on the first of the four nights of the CND, which will culminate with Biden accepting the party's presidential candidacy and delivering his opening speech, on Thursday at night.

It will go virtual

The main hubs of the convention will be stages in New York, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will deliver their speeches later in the week. .

Masters of ceremonies, who will broadcast primarily from Los Angeles, will lead the two-hour shows each night, while guests will make their speeches from historic sites across the country. Meanwhile, a production truck in Wilmington will monitor hundreds of live broadcasts from around the country, part of an effort to build excitement and add moments of reaction to the broadcasts.

If Democrats can keep audiences vigilant and engaged, it could change the way political conventions are carried out in the future.

• Joe Biden will no longer travel to Milwaukee to accept the Democratic nomination

What will Michelle Obama say?

Obama is one of the most popular public figures in the country, known for saying in her 2016 DNC speech that "When they go low, we go high."

She delivered another of the most memorable DNC moments of 2016 when she said: "I wake up every morning in a house built by slaves."

But his speech Monday will come at a different point in time, one that sees Trump run for re-election amid a global pandemic and anti-racism protests.

In a podcast recently, Michelle Obama said that she has been suffering from a "mild depression" amid the pandemic and the racial strife fueled by Trump. "I wake up in the middle of the night because I'm worried about something or I'm heavy," she said.

On an evening dedicated to a message of unity, Obama's way of injecting optimism into the anxiety Democrats have felt about Trump's term and the November election could bring Monday's most significant moment.

Bernie Sanders in the spotlight

Senator Bernie Sanders, a former presidential hopeful, during a campaign rally at the Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on March 1, 2020.

Since retiring from the race in the spring, Sanders has worked to crush any potential insurrection against Biden from the party's left. The former vice president returned the favor by giving the green light to a series of "unity task forces," a very public acknowledgment of the growing influence of the progressive movement.

On Monday night, Sanders will be offered his largest platform since his final debate with Biden. This time, however, he will walk a fine line, at the same time trying to appeal to his young point guard on Biden's behalf, while also using the limelight to defend his own political agenda.

Sanders is not one to test new material in front of large audiences, so his message to viewers will be familiar: that Trump is a unique threat to American democracy and that if he is not defeated by the Democratic nominee in November, all of Sanders' priorities and those of his followers will fade away.

With Biden in the White House, as Sanders has repeatedly said, progressives will have a chance to advance their cause. There will be plenty of time for a fight within the party, Sanders said a few weeks ago, "after the election."

The chance for lesser known names to shine

For those with a less established profile, the Convention will bring a unique opportunity.

Alabama Senator Doug Jones could have a lot to gain. Jones lost in his reelection bid, facing Republican candidate and former Auburn soccer coach Tommy Tuberville. A moving speech under the bright lights could convince out-of-state Democrats to pay more attention to the race and flood their campaign with new donations.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto will also be there on Monday. Whitmer was among the finalists in Biden's search for a running mate. Cortez Masto was rumored to be on their longest starting list. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, another early vice presidential candidate, will have her first chance to address an important audience since dropping out of the presidential primary and endorsing Biden.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has seen his national profile rise as he responded to the coronavirus pandemic in his state, will also speak Monday night. It will likely offer the kind of direct argument against Trump's leadership during the public health crisis that Biden has made central to his campaign.

No one questions the star of South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn. He is a trusted and influential advisor to the virtual candidate; however, he will have a chance to stand alone and defend Biden whose campaign could well have saved with a late endorsement before the South Carolina primary in February.

The Republican at the Democratic convention

Former Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich - also Governor of Ohio - during a campaign event in Fairfax, Virginia, on February 22, 2016. (Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS / AFP / Getty Images)

The most misplaced figure on the DNC's first night will be John Kasich, the former Republican governor of Ohio.

Kasich was a candidate for the Republican nomination in 2016 and has become a leading voice in the party's "Never Trump" movement. And while her selection for a convention speaker's seat angered progressives, handing over a speaker's role to a Republican could help Biden's campaign achieve unity.

There is a history of political parties that have invited a former political rival to their convention lineup. In 2008, then-Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, just eight years after being the Democratic vice presidential nominee, spoke at the Republican National Convention on behalf of then-Arizona Senator John McCain. In 2012, Charlie Crist, who had previously served as the Republican governor of Florida (and is now a Democratic congressman), endorsed the reelection of former President Barack Obama to that year's CND.

Kasich's message is likely to be directed toward the need for a functioning government. As a 2016 presidential hopeful, he often touted his role as the House of Representatives budget chairman, negotiating surplus spending plans with former President Bill Clinton.

Democratic National Convention Joe Biden Democratic Party