CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It’s hard to get the nation's 20 Democratic governors in one place. But that didn't stop party organizers from trying with a swanky, '70s-themed event here Monday night, complete with women in go-go outfits dancing on tables and an ABBA cover band at a two-story downtown club.

One wide-eyed attendee, the president of a state teacher’s union attending his first Democratic National Convention, said he didn’t expect the party to be this good.

About seven of the nation’s governors showed, according an an employee of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), which ...