Democrats to Soon Choose Site of 2020 Convention
By Alex Santana
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) will announce in the next few weeks which American city will host the DNC’s July 13-16 2020 national convention where the party’s democratic nominee will be selected. Houston, Milwaukee, and Miami are the three finalists and each have their own positive and negative attributes.
Florida Democrats recently stated they believe Milwaukee will be chosen and they have pressured DNC Chairman Tom Perez to reconsider Miami as the party’s best choice. Many political strategists argue the Midwest must be taken more seriously after President Donald Trump won several Midwestern states in the 2016 presidential election including Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In 2016 President Trump won Wisconsin with 47.22% versus Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 46.45%. Others argue Florida is an even more essential battleground state that cannot be taken by Trump a second time. Of the four presidential elections since 2004, Republicans and Democrats have both won Florida twice. President George W. Bush won in 2004 and President Obama won both times in 2008 and 2012. Trump won with 49.02% versus Clinton’s 47.82%.
Milwaukee’s civic leaders argue their central location and good weather would be better for the convention than in Miami due to the hot weather and possibility of hurricanes. Miami officials argue hurricanes are rare in early July when the convention will take place. They also cite the fact that Florida is the third most populous state in the union with over 21 million people and possesses 27 electoral votes. Florida and specifically Miami consists of a growing community from Latin American countries like Venezuela and some South Florida Democrats argue their party has to do a better job of reaching out to Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Puerto Ricans. President Trump recently visited Miami to speak to members of the Venezuelan, Cuban, and Nicaraguan communities. Florida Democrats also point to the fact that Milwaukee does not have enough accommodations for large delegations like California.
Eight Democrats have already declared they are running for the nomination. This includes Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Others include former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, Former U.S. Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, and U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are all considering a run as well.
Miami has so far hosted three national party conventions. In 1968 and 1972 the Miami Beach Convention Center was the site where Republicans nominated Richard M. Nixon and Spiro Agnew. 1972 was the year Democrats also used Miami Beach as the location to nominate their candidates, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota and Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri in attempt to defeat President Nixon and Vice President Agnew. Houston was the site of the 1928 Democratic National Convention where the Democrats nominated Roman Catholic Governor Al Smith of New York. In 1992 Houston served as the site of the Republican National Convention where President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle were nominated. Milwaukee has never hosted a national convention for the Republican and Democratic parties.
Cuban American Republican Mayors Francis X. Suarez of the City of Miami and Carlos A. Gimenez of Miami-Dade County as well as Democratic Mayor Dan Gelber of Miami Beach have all been pushing for the convention to be held in Miami. They believe the convention would be overall positive for the South Florida economy.
“Hosting in 2020 a Democratic National Convention will create more jobs, will deliver more revenue and will showcase our city as more than just a tourist destination, but a center for innovation, finance and entrepreneurship,” Suarez recently said.
“Miami-Dade County is the perfect place for the 2020 DNC for any number of reasons, but primarily because of our diversity and experience in successfully hosting large, prominent events,” Gimenez wrote in a letter to the DNC.
Gelber has engaged with Florida’s thirteen Democratic members of Congress for their support. U.S. Representative Donna Shalala (FL-27) represents Miami in the House of Representatives and has reportedly spoken with Chairman Perez about Miami’s qualifications. “I know Tom Perez very well. He worked for me for four years,” Shalala said. Shalala served as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during his entire eight years in office from 1993 to 2001, the longest of any HHS secretary in American history. Perez served as HHS Director of the Office of Civil Rights under Shalala and went on to serve as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Labor from 2013 to 2017.
Catholic University’s Professor of Politics John Kenneth White highlighted the importance of all three choices. “The three cities are located in states that Democrats wish to target in 2020” he said. “Florida has been key to any Democratic victory; Wisconsin is a state that Democrats have won since 1988 until 2016, and the Midwest is certainly going to be a Democratic target in 2020. Texas is interesting as it is a state where Hillary Clinton actually improved on Barack Obama’s 2012 performance. Both political parties use their conventions to make strategic decisions regarding states they hope to win in the general election.”
