Here’s a look at what to expect from the festivities, which will be streamed live on CBSNews.com.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro’s keynote address, 10 p.m. ET
Castro, 37, is in his second term as mayor of the nation’s seventh-largest city after easily winning re-election in 2011 with nearly 82 percent of the vote. The Obama campaign notes that his life story in many ways mirrors President Obama’s: He and his identical twin brother Joaquin Castro came from modest beginnings and relied on scholarships, grants and loans to attend Stanford University and then Harvard Law School.
A senior campaign official told CBS News that Castro’s keynote address will share that personal story “and reflect on the things we need to do as a country to create more Julian Castros, more Barack Obamas to ensure that every young person across this country can achieve their dreams.”
Castro’s star is rising within the Democratic party at the same time that Democrats are starting to see potential to turn Texas into a blue state, due to the growing Hispanic community. While Texas is for now a solidly Republican state when it comes to presidential politics, the Hispanic community will play a key role in swing states like Colorado and Nevada this year.
First Lady Michelle Obama serves as a “character witness,” 10:30 p.m. ET
First Lady Michelle Obama will serve as a “character witness” for her husband, according to the Obama campaign. She will speak, a senior campaign official said, “not just about who the president is, but the values that motivate him.”
Mrs. Obama will testify about the “tough decisions” that Mr. Obama made, like pushing through health care reform and backing the auto bailout. And after traveling the country and seeing tangible results, the campaign says, she can also testify to the ways in which those decisions have paid off.
Tuesday’s program begins at 5 p.m. ET and also includes speeches by former President Jimmy Carter (who will address the convention via video) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a video tribute to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee (a former Republican who is now an independent), Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, actor Kal Penn, President Obama’s sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and Michelle Obama’s brother Craig Robinson.