12:45 p.m. ET: Welcome to the official Obama 2012 convention live blog, where we’ll be covering all the action from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

 

Stay tuned throughout the day for live updates from supporters on the ground—and later tonight, we’ll be covering speeches from keynote speaker Mayor Julián Castro and First Lady Michelle Obama, along with facts and graphics you can share with your friends. If you’re at the convention, let us know what you’re seeing by using #DNC2012 on Twitter and Instagram.

12:55 p.m. ET: Grace, a case manager from Miami, had never been to a convention before—but just a couple weeks ago, she found out she was headed to Charlotte as a guest of the campaign. One of the winners of the “Front Row with Barack and Michelle” contest, Grace hit the ground running in her convention experience last night: 

 

"We got a sneak peek of the convention. We got to go to the arena, where we checked out the podium and just tried to take everything in—the reality of it. It was an awesome experience.

 

"We're going to a special campaign briefing this morning, and later tonight, we'll start the festivities. I don't really know what to expect! The First Lady will speak tonight, and we're very much looking forward to that!

 

"I've never been to something like this before. I always see it on TV, but to actually be there hearing what people have to say is amazing. It's so great to see everyone's support and pride for President Obama, and to know that we all want to see him continue in a second term is just overwhelming. It's good to be in one place with so many people who all agree and know that we want the same things for America."

 

Stay tuned for more updates from supporters at the convention.

 

1:00 p.m. ET: The convention is underway—before tonight’s speeches, delegates and grassroots supporters are meeting in caucuses to hear from speakers and plan for their organizing this fall.

4:30 p.m. ET Overheard at the Women’s Caucus this morning: 

“This is about our mothers and our sisters and our daughters. That's what this is about.” —Amy Klobuchar 

“Our strength is our diversity and our inclusivity, and our voice is our vote.” —Ashley Judd “Women have the most to gain by the re-election of President Obama and the most to lose if he does not win.” —Nancy Pelosi 

“In 2008, when I decided to endorse Barack Obama, my son said to me: ‘Anybody who can get Michelle to marry him has something going on.’” —Kathleen Sebelius 

“Here is our job ... you have the power to reach out to one person, to connect the personal to the political. You need to put your walking shoes on and knock on some doors for Barack Obama.” —Nancy Keenan 

“We have to elect this president so that he can stand for women’s rights for four more years.” —Sandra Fluke “The future of this election is completely up to us. Nobody else is going to do this for us, am I right?” —Cecile Richards 

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4:51 p.m. ET The 2012 convention is hosting a record number of LGBT delegates, with over 500 proud Americans making their way down to Charlotte this week. As they look forward to hearing marriage equality announced as a part of the official party platform tonight, here’s what two people had to say on their way out of the LGBT Caucus:

 

“We talked about the need to re-elect President Obama because he stands for fairness and equality for everybody. And we listed the achievements he's done for the LGBT community that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would wipe out in a matter of days. I think marriage equality a great addition, I think it's about time. It moves everyone forward, it moves no one backwards. And I'm proud it was done and supported by the President.”

—Rick from New Hampshire

 

“The caucus reaffirmed every reason why I'm here. I think Barack Obama is a fantastic candidate for the LGBT community. We need to get that message out loud and clear, not only to all the LGBT people who of course need to vote for him, but also the people who are our allies who support us but don't realize how different the campaigns are on our issues. I think that's our big challenge—to get organized, get ourselves together, and get the message out. When I first heard about [the Democrats adding same-sex marriage to the party platform], I started crying. I couldn't believe it. I'm going to be 60 years old soon, and I didn't think that I was ever going to see it in my lifetime. It was so exciting.”

—Jan, Michigan