(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic National Committee announced on Tuesday that its 2024 convention will be held in Chicago.
The convention will take place Aug. 19 through 22 at the United Center and the McCormick Place Convention Center, with between 5,000 and 7,000 delegates and alternates expected to attend, a source familiar said in confirmation of what was first reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Chicago had been in competition with Atlanta and New York City for the large political event.
The choice comes a week after Democratic victories in the Midwest, including an outsized win for the left flank of the party with the Windy City’s election of progressive Brandon Johnson last Tuesday.
“The DNC is returning to the Midwest, a critical Democratic stronghold: Illinois along with Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota — part of the ‘blue wall’ — were crucial to the 2020 victory of President Biden and Vice President Harris and to Democrats’ success in the 2022 midterm elections,” the DNC wrote in a statement.
The choice also comes in the wake of a large loss for Midwest progressives for the coming election cycle, with South Carolina unseating Iowa as the first state in the nation to vote on a Democratic nominee for president.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment to the Midwest.
“Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” said Biden. “Democrats will gather to showcase our historic progress including building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not from the top down. From repairing our roads and bridges, to unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating over 12.5 million new good-paying jobs, we’ve already delivered so much for hard working Americans – now it’s time to finish the job.”
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