Chicago to host 2024 Democratic convention

Democrats will hold their 2024 national convention in Chicago, according to three sources familiar with the decision. 

The decision to hold the 2024 Democratic National Convention there will place the party and President Biden in the heart of a battleground region that has proven pivotal in the last several election cycles. 

Party officials were torn between a few finalists as they weighed where to hold the gathering, including New York and Atlanta. Democratic leaders ultimately chose Chicago because of its central location near a handful of so-called “blue wall” states, like Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

“I am thrilled that Democrats will take the stage in Chicago to share our party’s vision and values,” Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “The Midwest reflects America and will give Democrats an opportunity to showcase some of President Biden and Vice President Harris’s most significant accomplishments for American families.”

The DNC said that the Chicago convention would “showcase President Biden’s economic agenda,” including a massive investment in infrastructure that has been among the president’s biggest policy successes during his first term in the White House.

Biden praised the decision to host the 2024 convention in Chicago, saying it would be the perfect stage to tout his policy agenda.

“Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” Biden said. “Democrats will gather to showcase our historic progress including building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not from the top down.”

To be sure, some Democrats were critical of Chicago as a host city in the leadup to the decision, arguing that the 2024 convention should be held in a more competitive state, like Georgia, a one-time bastion of conservatism that has become a key part of Democrats’ political map in recent years.

Atlanta was also closely considered to host the convention, though it drew criticism from union leaders who argued that Georgia’s often unfriendly climate for organized labor could send a bad message to a key Democratic voting bloc.

The decision to hold the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago ensures that the Midwest will be the hub for the nation’s politics next summer. Republicans are set to hold their 2024 nominating convention in Milwaukee, just 90 miles or so north of Chicago.

This story was updated at 11:09 a.m.

Brett Samuels and Hanna Trudo contributed.