For most of the year, D.C. Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss is a senator in name only. His elected position doesn’t pay him a salary, he has no real standing in Congress, and he spends much of his time trying to educate as many influential people as he can about D.C.’s non-voting status. But at the Democratic National Convention, a shadow senator gets to play make believe.

Both Strauss and fellow Shadow Sen. Michael Brown, who are serving as superdelegates representing the District, have been issued their DNC credentials directly from the same office as members of the U.S. Senate. While they are in Denver, they are, for all intents and purposes, senators.

“Most of the venues are accepting them as senators, and treating them with respect,” said D.C. Democratic Party spokesperson David Meadows.

That might explain why Strauss was able to walk right in to “A Blue Night in Denver,” a party hosted Sunday night by the conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, without being sure he was even on the list. Flanked by no less than six interns from his staff, all of whom were wearing Secret Service-style earbud headsets, Strauss went straight up to the security-heavy entrance and introduced himself as Sen. Strauss. He not only gained immediate entry to the invite-only party (after paying the requisite entrance fee), he waltzed straight in to the VIP section upstairs.