Democrats Drop South From 2028 Convention List

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) narrowed the field of cities bidding to host its 2028 presidential convention to Boston, Denver, and Philadelphia, eliminating Atlanta and Chicago.

The committee announced the decision on Aug. 20 in a post on X, writing that it was “excited to announce Boston, Denver, and Philadelphia as the finalists to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin said in his own post that the cities that bid all made a strong case.

“Each city presented strong bids to host an inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee and a critical step on our path to retaking the White House,” Martin wrote. “We look forward to continuing to work with them as the DNC makes a final selection over the coming months.”

The convention is scheduled for Aug. 7–10, 2028, and a final decision is expected later this year. Republicans have already selected Houston for their 2028 convention.

The party did not say why Atlanta and Chicago were cut. DNC leaders and members of the party’s Technical Advisory Group visited all five finalist cities in April and May, weighing logistics, local partnerships, and fundraising capacity, among other factors.

The Southern Bid Is Out

Atlanta was the only Southern city among the five finalists, and its elimination lands a week after the DNC announced a new program built around the argument that the South is where the party’s future lies.

The committee announced the Southern States Resource Hub on Aug. 14, a program to give Southern state parties help with hiring, fundraising, voter data, and messaging. Martin framed it in terms of population growth.

“I like to say Democrats need to skate to where the puck is going, and for the future of politics in this country, one thing we know is that the puck is heading to the South,” Martin said in that announcement. “The new DNC Southern States Resource Hub is a historic investment to ensure Democratic state parties in the South have the resources they need to compete, protect voters, and win, because lasting power is built long before Election Day.”

The same argument dominated the party’s fight over its 2028 nominating calendar. Five of the 12 state parties that applied for early primary slots were Southern. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton told the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee earlier this year that “by the next census, four out of every 10 Americans is going to live in the South,” and that the party would have to compete there to build lasting power.

Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey put it more bluntly at the same meetings.

“If you win Georgia, you win the country,” he said.

Tennessee state Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) told the panel, “If we win the South, we take the nation every single presidential election.”

The Rules and Bylaws Committee voted in July to keep South Carolina first on the 2028 calendar, and the full committee ratified that order at its summer meeting in Austin, Texas, last week.

Bailey had pitched Atlanta’s bid in April as a test of whether the party would follow that rhetoric with a physical commitment.

“The future of politics and the future of the Democratic Party is in the South,” he said at an April 23 news conference alongside Martin and other DNC members touring the city, adding that Martin “could send no stronger signal about the future of the Democratic Party” than to come to Atlanta and “plant the flag” to win the South.

Rival bidding cities raised concerns during the process about Atlanta’s lack of union presence, noting that Georgia is a right-to-work state with less organized labor than the Northern finalists. Bailey argued at the time that the party should go to contested states rather than wait for ideal conditions.

“You’ve got to win elections,” he said. “And to win elections, you’ve got to show you care, and to show you care, you’ve got to show up.”

Atlanta last hosted the convention in 1988. Asked in April whether the outcome of Georgia’s 2026 elections might weigh on the decision, Bailey said he did not think so, calling Georgia “a coin flip kind of state” regardless.

What the 3 Finalists Have in Common

All three surviving cities are in states that lean Democratic in presidential elections, and all have hosted more recently than Atlanta. Philadelphia last hosted in 2016, Denver in 2008, and Boston in 2004.

Colorado and Massachusetts have gone Democratic in recent presidential elections. Philadelphia is the only one of the three in a state where both parties have been competitive during recent cycles. Trump carried Pennsylvania in 2024.

The three are also large metropolitan areas with organized labor presence and established donor networks, in states surrounded by the suburban areas that have become central to the party’s coalition.

Chicago, which hosted the 2024 convention, was cut alongside Atlanta.

The convention decision comes as the party faces a fundraising gap against Republicans and carries debt, and as Martin has fielded criticism over his management of the committee. At the Austin meeting, Martin dismissed the criticism and urged the party to unify around the midterms.

The DNC did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.