When state delegates cast their votes for their candidate for president of the United States at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday evening, they did so as part of a cross-state dance party.

DJ Cassidy played a unique tune for each state as the names were called. Some songs were by local musicians, others conveyed a message. “Higher Love (for Delaware)” by Kygo and Whitney Houston and “Sweet Home Alabama” (guess what) by Lynyrd Skynyrd opened the ceremonial roll call of the states. Minnesota played Prince, of course. New Jersey performed “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen. Lil Jon from Atlanta introduced the Georgia delegation with “Turn Down for What” and “Get Low.”

And Florida? “I Won’t Back Down” by Gainesville’s son, the late Tom Petty.

Florida Democratic Party leader Nikki Fried happily cast her votes surrounded by the state’s delegates.

“Florida is worth fighting for,” she said. “That’s why we are standing up against Project 2025 and Republican extremism. We will not go back, we will not give in. I cast four votes, and 243 votes from the great state of Florida for the first female president, the first female president of the United States, Kamala Harris!”

By coincidence (?), the Super PAC created to promote Governor Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential bid was called “Never Back Down, Inc.”

The vote was ceremonial because Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had already been nominated during a virtual roll call on August 5 due to voting deadlines in some states. Harris and Walz accepted the nomination a day later, but Harris will formally accept the nomination on the final night of the convention.

“A different kind of quiet boasting”: Songs at the DNC call by artists angry about Trump

According to Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC, all of the songs played were by artists who had asked or demanded that Trump stop playing their songs at his rallies and events over the past six years.

“And another kind of quiet boast. In every state, you saw a different super famous song and artist from that state,” Ruhle told Rachel Maddow during the network’s DNC coverage. “Think of all the artists, and there are states that have attacked Donald Trump over the last six years, whether it’s Sinead O’Connor, The Village People, most recently Celine Dion, over and over again. Tom Petty. ‘Stop playing our songs at your rallies.’

“And tonight we saw every artist from every genre of music representing their state, including Lil Jon himself,” she said.

“That’s a boast.”

Who is the DJ at the DNC?

Known for his straw hats, pink and green cricket sweaters and gold microphone, New York-born Cassidy Durango Milton Willy Podell, aka DJ Cassidy, has become a sought-after DJ for celebrity events.

Cassidy has worked at the weddings of Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian and played records at the birthdays of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

He was also very present in politics: for example, he was active as a staff member at Obama’s first inauguration ball in 2009, the Democratic National Convention in 2012 and the inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021.

Why did Minnesota and California pass the DNC?

When the states were called alphabetically, two states were allowed through when it was their turn: California and Minnesota.

Their extended terms came last so they could vote for their own people.

Performing to the tune of Prince’s “1999” in Minnesota were Hans Storvick, Walz’s former student and neighbor, former NFL player John Randle, and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who cast 81 votes for Harris and Walz.

California, home of Kamala Harris, finished voting with 482 votes to the sounds of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and Tupac Shakur’s “California Love.” Governor Gavin Newsom spoke about watching Harris’s evolution from prosecutor to Vice President of the United States.

“Kamala Harris has always done the right thing,” he said.

What songs were played during the DNC ceremonial roll call?

How can I watch the DNC?

The Democratic National Convention Committee announced it will stream the convention across a dozen platforms, including vertical streams on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for the first time. The convention’s primetime programming will air live from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT on Monday and from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday through Thursday.

Television networks’ coverage of the convention will vary slightly. Here is an overview of the major networks and their coverage schedules:

• C-SPAN will hold the entire conference on all four days without interruption.

• CBS Television networks will provide live prime-time coverage and analysis on all four days starting at 7:00 a.m. EDT.

• NBC News NBC Nightly News will broadcast live and simultaneously stream the program, which will be hosted by Lester Holt all four nights and joined by Samantha Guthrie Tuesday through Friday. The show airs Mondays and Tuesdays from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT.

• ABC News will broadcast live daily for four days from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT on its main network and from 7:00 p.m. to midnight EDT on ABC News Live.

• Fox News will broadcast comprehensive coverage during its regular prime-time schedule beginning with FOX News Sunday and will air a one-hour special each night beginning at 10 p.m. EDT, hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

• CNN Live coverage begins at 9 a.m. EDT on Sunday with special editions of several CNN shows. There will be nearly 24/7 coverage throughout the convention. The network will then offer a combination of reporting and analysis each night from 8 p.m. to midnight, hosted by Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper.

• MSNBC will broadcast coverage each day of the conference, plus a prime-time special at 8 p.m. hosted by Rachel Maddow.

• PBS will have live special coverage on local PBS channels, the PBS app, and streaming on YouTube beginning at 7 p.m. EDT, hosted by News Hour’s Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett.

• News Nation will present special coverage of the DNC all week, beginning Sunday, August 18, through Thursday, August 22. In addition to its other programs, NewsNation will present “Decision Desk 2024: The Democratic National Convention” from 8 p.m. to midnight EDT all four days.

This article originally appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal: DNC 2024: Florida elects Harris despite Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down”