On the second night of the Democratic National Convention, former President Barack Obama was the star of the show.

Two decades after his groundbreaking speech at the 2004 convention, Obama returned to his hometown of Chicago to support Vice President Kamala Harris and pay tribute to his former running mate, President Joe Biden.

The former president and Michelle Obama overshadowed the rest of the speeches on Tuesday, which included Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Here are the winners and losers from the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

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Barack and Michelle Obama

The Obamas have been out of the White House for nearly eight years, but they remain among the Democratic Party’s most compelling figures. Both Barack and Michelle Obama received some of the loudest ovations of the convention so far, which could only be surpassed by Harris’ reception on Thursday night.

The former president used the moment to praise Biden for withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race, saying Biden had “put aside his own ambitions for the good of the country.” But Obama spent most of his speech praising Harris as the right person to succeed Biden in the White House.

“Kamala Harris is ready for the job,” Obama said. He pitted Harris against Trump and attacked his successor in an unusually direct manner. After leaving office, Obama largely avoided criticism of Trump, following the tradition of previous presidents. But on Tuesday, Obama did not hold back.

“This is a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems,” Obama said, adding that Trump’s performance had gotten old. “We don’t need four more years of bluster and chaos.”

Michelle Obama was even more direct.

“It’s still the same old hoax,” she said of Trump’s attacks on Harris. “He’s relying on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that would actually improve people’s lives.”

The “ceremonial” roll-call vote

Harris officially secured the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nomination in an initial online vote earlier this month. But that didn’t stop the Democratic National Committee from holding what it called a “ceremonial roll call” vote on the second night of the convention. Groups of delegates from each state took turns symbolically nominating Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in a ceremony on the arena floor that has been a staple of party conventions for decades.

The in-person roll call vote was also the first of its kind for Democrats since 2016. At the virtual convention during the pandemic four years ago, the DNC held a memorable video roll call vote in which delegates held up local dishes and posed in front of iconic locations in their states. The innovative roll call was a highlight of the 2020 convention, but it still wasn’t quite the same as the in-person version.

Speakers included elected officials such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, but it also provided a rare opportunity to feature local leaders and grassroots activists who will be doing much of the volunteer campaign work for Harris’ campaign this fall.

Nancy Pelosi

When it was California’s turn to vote by roll call, Governor Gavin Newsom began his remarks by saying he was “from the great state of Nancy Pelosi.” The former speaker laughed at his side as she held up the state shield and took center stage, as usual.

Pelosi did not have a major speaking role on Tuesday night, but her quiet appearance on the floor was a reminder of her behind-the-scenes efforts to push fellow Californian Harris to the top of the ballot. Pelosi reportedly played a crucial role in sending the message to the White House that Biden could not beat Trump after his poor debate performance in June.

After his speech at the convention on Monday, Biden denied that Pelosi pushed him out of office when asked if he was angry with the longtime California Democrat. “No one influenced my decision,” Biden told reporters before leaving Chicago for a family vacation in California.

Pelosi did not publicly call on Biden to quit. But her refusal to support him at a critical moment spoke volumes. Pelosi resigned as speaker in January 2023 and is in the final stages of her political career. But she remains one of the most powerful voices in the Democratic Party.

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Democrats on the lower ballots

Democrats rallied around Harris on Tuesday, a night after celebrating Biden’s legacy. But all the attention on the top candidates meant that the lower-ballot races were largely ignored at the party’s convention in Chicago. That could spell trouble for Democrats, who face a difficult plan to expand their control of the Senate and regain control of the House.

In his speech at the convention on Tuesday, Schumer sought to shift the focus to Congress. The Senate majority leader said Harris will “lead America to a better future, but she can’t do it alone. She needs a Democratic majority.” Schumer highlighted several candidates, including Ruben Gallego in Arizona and Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland, and promised that Democrats would win several seats in November.

But it was a clear sign that Schumer failed to capture the attention of those in attendance. Delegates spent much of his speech talking while they waited impatiently for Obama’s keynote speech. Harris will dominate the rest of the convention. But at some point, Democrats may need to start focusing more on the House and Senate.

Bernie Sanders’ influence on the party

Sanders’ legacy is assured after he finished second to Hillary Clinton and Biden in the last two Democratic primaries. Sanders has helped move the party left on trade, climate change and other issues, while also serving as a mentor to a younger generation of progressives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In his speech at the convention on Tuesday, Sanders played many of his biggest hits, incorporating policy proposals from his campaigns. “Billionaires from both parties should not be able to buy elections,” Sanders said at one point, echoing the rhetoric that made him a national political star. The Vermont senator’s speech was met with occasional applause. But the polite response he received made clear that Sanders – like Biden and Clinton – is no longer the center of the American left’s political debate.