UPDATED: The wooing of the 2008 Democratic National Convention has resembled a soap opera tryst. One by one, the final suitors for this fair lady were either jilted or had abandoned their quest: Chicago, New Orleans and more. Since July, the only three cities still courting the Democratic Party were New York City, Minneapolis/St Paul and Denver.The three cities had their positive and negative assets. The political gossip whispered Minneapolis/St. Paul was the favorite. But, the Democrats were not the alone in looking at that city-the Republicans had been courting there, too.
The Democratic National Committee has a rule that prevents them from holding their convention in the same city as the Republicans. So when the Republican Party decided on Minneapolis/St. Paul as their convention site on Wednesday, that left two contenders: Denver and New York City.
With Minneapolis/St. Paul out, Denver’s chances of running away with the Democratic National Convention in August of 2008 have improved considerably. As Dan Slater, first vice-chair of the Democratic Party said in DemNotes:
…Governor Dean has already said he wants to get the Convention off of the coasts in 2008, which also speaks well of Denver’s bid. We’re still working to deal with various issues, but this is GOOD NEWS for the Denver 2008 bid!
The New York Times noted Denver’s position stepped into the limelight again because of its Western appeal:
With Minneapolis out of contention, Democrats are now weighing whether Denver – an appealing Western spot in an increasingly volatile state – has enough union-run hotels to play host to their convention, which is sometimes larger than that of the Republicans. New York City has cleared the logistical bar for having the convention, officials said, but as a widely Democratic state, New York holds less political appeal than Colorado. And a potential Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, represents New York.
The last time Republican officials headed to the Midwest for a convention was 1980, when Ronald Reagan was nominated in Detroit. Democrats, who held their last conventions in Boston and Los Angeles, held their last middle-of-the-country convention in Chicago in 1996.
Select Democratic National Committee people will be meeting in New York City on Friday to make their convention recommendations to Howard Dean, chairman of the DNC, who will make the final decision expected in November.
