Dems choose Chicago over Atlanta to hold 2024 Democratic National Convention

Channel 2 Action News has learned that despite big pushes from party officials, the 2024 Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago.

The Associated Press said President Joe Biden personally chose Chicago over Atlanta and New York.

In a news release, the DNC said: “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. Chicago’s convention bid was supported by a wide range of midwestern Democrats who represent the diversity of the party, demonstrating the formidable coalition that will help re-elect President Biden and Vice President Harris, and elect Democrats up and down the ticket.”

Chicago is solidly Democratic, as is Illinois. But holding the party’s presidential nominating gathering in such a pro-union city again demonstrates Biden’s commitment to organized labor - which will be critical to his bid to win a second term in the White House.

”Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” said President Joe 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,” Biden said.

The move also could counter Republicans, who last summer decided to hold their 2024 convention in Milwaukee in another critical Midwestern battleground state, Wisconsin.

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Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot on Tuesday that he was just as disappointed as anyone to get the call from DNC chair Jamie Harrison that Atlanta lost the bid.

“He said, “Mayor, I got some news for you that I hate to give you. I said ‘OK.’ He told me that we weren’t going to get it, Chicago was,” Dickens said.

Chicago hosted the infamous 1968 Democratic convention that is best remembered for a brutal clash between police and protesters opposing the Vietnam War. The last Democratic National Convention in the city was in 1996, when President Bill Clinton won a second term.

Illinois Democratic Gov. J. B. Pritzker was a key voice in lobbying for Chicago. He pointed to Democratic desires to expand their electoral gains in the Midwest, particularly in Michigan, where the party held the governorship and won control of both chambers of the Legislature during last fall’s midterms.

“The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago will welcome people from across the nation to an unforgettable event highlighting our party’s vision for lifting up working families and those who too often have been left out and left behind,” Pritzker said. “Our great global city and its diverse communities, unparalleled hospitality, and world-renowned venues show off the best of America and its people represent the heart of our country.”

Dickens said one of the things that Illinois had to offer, was a lot of money.

“The thing that Illinois had was a lot of cash coming from the governor who had already expressly said, ‘I will write this check.’ That the DNC will not have any worry about the expenses coming back on their balance sheets,” Dickens said.

The fact that Chicago beat out Atlanta was nonetheless a surprise given Georgia’s strategic importance as a swing state. Biden won Georgia two years ago, becoming the first Democrat to do so in a presidential election since Clinton in 1992, and his party now controls both of its Senate seats after wins that drew national attention the last two cycles.

Though Atlanta is as thoroughly Democratic as Chicago and New York, Georgia could very well be a major deciding factor in the 2024 presidential race.

Still, some top Democrats worried about Georgia’s Republican-controlled Legislature and state laws discouraging union membership and LGBTQ rights. There were also concerns about Georgia’s relaxed firearms laws, especially given the rash of mass shootings around the country — despite gun violence being a persistent problem in Chicago.

But shunning Atlanta for the convention could ultimately serve as a double blow to Georgia, which may also eventually lose its early place in a new Democratic primary calendar.

Biden endorsed moving Georgia to the No. 4 position in a revamped Democratic primary calendar for 2024 — changes meant to better empower the party’s deeply diverse voter base than the old system, which led off with overwhelmingly white Iowa.

But Republican state officials have balked at the Democrats holding a primary on a date that doesn’t coincide with the GOP’s 2024 primary.

Supporters of Atlanta’s bid had argued that the city and the rest of Georgia could help lead a resurgence of Democrats in the South, which remains largely steadfastly Republican.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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