CONVENTION.

>> PARIS, THANK YOU.

MANY REPUBLICAN DELEGATES WILL

BE WATCHING THE CONVENTION FROM

THEIR COUCHES THIS WEEK MISSING

THE USUAL EXCITEMENT OF

CONVENTION PARTIES, NETWORKING

AND IN THIS CASE, SEEING THE

PRESIDENT ON STAGE.

JOINING US AS PART OF OUR

SPECIAL COVERAGE OF THE RNC ARE

TWO FIRST TIME DELEGATES, MARIA

VASQUEZ A CHAIRMAN WITH

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY YOUNG

REPUBLICANS AND KEVIN SUGGS A

COMMITTEEMAN WITH THE BREMEN UP

TO REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATION.

WELCOME TO "CHICAGO TONIGHT."

LAST NIGHT, SOUTH CAROLINA

SENATOR TIM SCOTT SPOKE ABOUT

HIS GRANDFATHER AND THE

SIGNIFICANCE OF HIM HAVING HIS

OWN SEAT.

>> HE SUFFERED THE INDIGNITY OF

BEING FORCED OUT OF SCHOOL AS A

THIRD GRADER TO PICK COTTON AND

HE NEVER LEARNED TO READ OR

WRITE.

YET HE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO SEE

HIS GRANDSON BECOME THE FIRST

AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO BE ELECTED

TO BOTH THE UNITED STATES HOUSE

AND THE UNITED STATES SENATE IN

THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY.

OUR FAMILY WENT FROM COTTON TO

CONGRESS IN ONE LIFETIME.

>> KEVIN SUGGS, THE RNC TRIED TO

SHOW DIVERSITY AMONG THE PARTY

LAST NIGHT.

THE STRATEGY WORK FOR THE

REPUBLICANS?

>> I BELIEVE SO.

BECAUSE EVERY SPEAKER LAST NIGHT

REMEMBER LOOKING AT ALL OF THEM

WAS FROM A DIVERSE BACKGROUND.

EVERY OTHER NATIONALITY TOO AS

WELL.

INDIANS, SO THAT WAS A GREAT

POSITION TO SHOW THAT WE ARE A

PARTY OF DIVERSITY.

>> MARIA VASQUEZ IS THERE A

POLICY OR ISSUE THAT YOU ARE

PARTICULARLY EAGER TO HEAR ABOUT

THIS WEEK?

>> AS FAR AS THIS WEEK THERE'S

JUST SO MANY THINGS THAT NEED TO

BE COVERED.

AS FAR AS THE FIRST NIGHT GOES,

I THINK IT WAS A GREAT

INTRODUCTION FOR INSPIRATION FOR

MINORITIES FOR IMMIGRANTS, FOR

WOMEN AND FOR VETERANS IN THIS

COUNTRY YOU KNOW A MESSAGE OF

POSITIVITY THAT THESE ARE

REAL-LIFE STORIES FROM TRUE

AMERICANS THAT LOVE THIS COUNTRY

AND VIEWERS AT HOME LIKE MYSELF

OR YOU KNOW, MY SON OR

MINORITIES REALLY CAN INSPIRE

AND SAY YOU KNOW WHAT?

IF THEY MADE IT SO CAN I.

A CUBAN IMMIGRANT LIVING IN

MIAMI HE SPOKE LAST NIGHT ABOUT

WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE THE

AMERICAN DREAM.

>> DECIDE MY FATE, ME.

NOT SOME GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.

NOT SOME BUREAUCRAT.

IN AMERICA, I WILL DECIDE MY OWN

FUTURE.

I AM SO GRATEFUL TO AMERICA.

THE PLACE WHERE I WAS ABLE TO

BUILD MY AMERICAN DREAM THROUGH

HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION.

PRESIDENT TRUMP KNOWS THAT THE

AMERICAN STORY WAS REDONE BY

PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND I WHO LOVE

OUR COUNTRY.

AND A RISK TO BUILD A FUTURE FOR

OUR FAMILIES AND NEIGHBORS.

>> MARIA VASQUEZ WHAT IS THE

AMERICAN DREAM THAT REPUBLICANS

ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS WEEK AND

ENVISIONING?

>> WELL, THE AMERICAN DREAM IS

TRULY LIKE MAXIMO DESCRIBED.

IT'S HARD NOT TO GET EMOTIONAL

WHEN YOU HEAR HIS STORY OF

SURVIVAL IN THIS COUNTRY.

BECAUSE MYSELF I AM A FIRST

GENERATION AMERICAN THAT CAME MY

MOTHER CAME HERE NOT KNOWING THE

LANGUAGE.

NOT HAVING A JOB.

THIS WASN'T HER COUNTRY.

AND SHE CAME HERE SO THAT I

COULD LIVE BETTER.

AND ANYTIME THAT YOU KNOW, I

STRUGGLE I FEEL LIKE I OWE THAT

TO THE MY FAMILY TO DO BETTER

AND TO BREAK THE CYCLE.

AND IF WE HAVE COME TO THIS

COUNTRY FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM

THAT MEANS YOU KNOW BEING ABLE

TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR, BEING

ABLE TO SUPPORT YOUR FAMILY,

BEING ABLE TO EDUCATE YOUR KIDS

SO THEY CAN DO BETTER.

AND MAYBE ONE DAY BE A MEMBER OF

CONGRESS LIKE REPRESENTATIVE TIM

SCOTT.

>> KEVIN SUGGS THE RNC

CONSIDERED A UNITING FORCE FOR

THE REPUBLICANS.

HOW DO YOU BELIEVE THE

CONVENTION IS PROVIDING THAT

SENSE OF UNITY THIS YEAR?

>> WELL, I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT

LAST NIGHT A LOT OF THE THINGS

THEY PUT TOGETHER THE TOPICS

THESE ARE CONCERNS OF EVERY

AMERICAN PERSON REGARDLESS IF

YOU ARE DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN.

AND THEY ARE ADDRESSING THEM AND

THEY ARE COMING UP WITH PLANS

HOW WE CAN FIX IT WHICH I THINK

IS THE SOLUTION THAT WE DIDN'T

HEAR LAST WEEK.

SO FROM UNIFYING THE COUNTRY,

COMMON GROUNDS WE ALL BELIEVE WE

WANT TO PROSPER AND HAVE

ECONOMIC SUCCESS AND WE WANT TO

GET ALONG AND I BELIEVE THAT WAS

IT.

AND I APPLAUD THE PRESIDENT FOR

BRINGING THE FRONTLINE WORKERS

ON HAVING PEOPLE THAT HE HOPES

TO GET RELEASED FROM OVERSEAS

WHEN THEY WERE IN PRISON.

THOSE ARE HIS ISSUES THAT ARE

EVERYONE'S CONCERN IT IS NOT A

PARTISAN ISSUE AND THOSE ARE THE

THINGS THAT WILL UNIFY THE PARTY

AND THE NATION.

>> MARIA WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION

TO THE CONVENTION BEING HELD

VIRTUALLY INSTEAD OF HAVING IT

IN PERSON?

>> INITIALLY BEING A FIRST-TIME

DELEGATE ESPECIALLY FOR THIS

GREAT PRESIDENT, I WAS

DISAPPOINTED THAT I WASN'T GOING

TO BE IN PERSON TO ATTEND ALL OF

THE AND GET TO KNOW FELLOW

REPUBLICANS AND TRUMP

SUPPORTERS.

BUT YOU KNOW, AS THE FIRST NIGHT

CLOSED OF THE CONVENTION

VIRTUALLY, I WAS PRETTY PLEASED.

I FEEL LIKE I WAS FOCUSED TO BE

ABLE TO LISTEN TO THE SPEAKERS

AND YOU KNOW SHARE IT WITH

FRIENDS AT HOME.

I WAS GETTING TEXT MESSAGES ALL

NIGHT FROM PEOPLE JUST EXCITED

AND PEOPLE HERE LOCALLY THAT

SUPPORTED ME SINCE I STARTED YOU

KNOW, HELPING OUT IN POLITICS.

AND I WAS ABLE TO WATCH IT WITH

MY SON AND THAT WAS A GOOD

EXPERIENCE AS WELL.

>> AND KEVIN HOW ABOUT YOU?

ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING

DIFFERENTLY TO MAKE IT SPECIAL

THOUGH IT IS A VIRTUAL

CONVENTION THIS YEAR?

>> YOU KNOW, I'M STILL AT HOME

WATCHING IT.

I AM EITHER TEXTING OR FACE

TIMING WITH FRIENDS WE'RE LIKE

DOING A LITTLE WATCH PARTY

PER SE NOT TECHNICALLY ON

Facebook BUT THAT IS GOING TO

BE THE EXTRA PART I'M DOING IN

ADDITION TO WATCHING IT.

>> AND HOW IS YOUR ROLE

DIFFERENT SINCE YOU ARE AT HOME

INSTEAD OF PHYSICALLY THERE AT

THE CONVENTION AS A DELEGATE?

>> WELL, AS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING

RIGHT NOW IS JUST LIKE GOING

ALONG WITH THE VOTES WERE CAST

YESTERDAY.

AND OUR CHAIRMAN CAST THE VOTE

FOR ILLINOIS.

PRETTY MUCH WE ARE OBSERVING AND

LOOKING FORWARD TO THURSDAY

NIGHT.

>> OK.

ENJOY THE REST OF THE WEEK.