The Democratic National Committee announced on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden and his party chose Chicago to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, choosing a largely liberal city in the heart of the Midwest to hold its nominating party.
Chicago defeated New York, another progressive city, as well as Atlanta, a city in Georgia’s presidential battleground state that helped Biden win the White House and gain control of the Senate. Houston had already been eliminated earlier in the process.
“Chicago is an excellent choice to host the Democratic National Convention in 2024,” said Biden in a statement. “Democrats will gather to celebrate our historic progress, which includes building an economy from the middle out and from the bottom up, rather than from the top down.”
Supporters of Chicago argued that it was a diverse, liberal city that celebrated labor and civil rights. They also claimed that it was in the critical Midwestern region of the country that Democrats needed to win in order to keep the White House. Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, a longtime and wealthy Democratic donor, also stated that his state’s largest city possessed the financial resources and experience to host a large-scale event.
The DNC announced that the convention, where delegates will formally select a final Democratic nominee to run in the November 2024 presidential election, will take place from August 19 to 22.
Before leaving for Ireland, Biden called Pritzker to inform him of Chicago’s selection, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
While he has not officially declared his candidacy, Biden is widely expected to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2024 general election.
