DNC Press Contact:
Brandon Gassaway
National Press Secretary
The Democratic National Committee announced today that Milwaukee, WI, will host the Democratic National Convention on July 13-16, 2020. This is the first time the Democratic Party has held a national convention in the Midwest outside of Chicago since 1916.
After a decade of Republican attacks on working people, labor unions, and communities of color, Democrats saw some of their biggest and most historic gains last year in Wisconsin with the election of Governor Tony Evers, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, and Attorney General Josh Kaul, and the reelection of Senator Tammy Baldwin. Today’s announcement signals that the party is doubling down on its winning strategy in this critical battleground state.
“If we’re going to take back the White House, restore the guard rails of our democracy, and make government work for American families, we need to earn it,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “We need to fight alongside our brothers and sisters in labor to build a brighter future together, and empower the diversity of our party and country. This choice is a statement of our values, and I’m thrilled Milwaukee will host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The Democratic Party is the party of working people, and Milwaukee is a city of working people. We saw in this last election what we can accomplish when we come together, invest, and fight for working people, and that was proven right here in Wisconsin. I want to thank the leaders in Houston and Miami for all their hard work throughout this process. They both put forward competitive proposals that I’m sure will lead them to hosting future conventions.”
“This is a great day for the city of Milwaukee and for the state of Wisconsin,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “Milwaukee is a first-class city, and we are ready to showcase Milwaukee on one of the largest stages in the world.”
The site selection process was led by Jess O’Connell and consisted of a Technical Advisory Group, which included seasoned veterans who have worked several cycles of conventions and are experts in the areas of housing, transportation, infrastructure, security, accessibility, and arena and production logistics. These experts spent at least six months traveling to Milwaukee, Miami and Houston to see what each city had to offer. The RFP process was led by Leah Daughtry, which consisted of reviewing bids and determining the three finalists for this process.
The Milwaukee bid committee included Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Governor Tony Evers, Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Milwaukee Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry.
For updates as they become available, we are encouraging people to register here.
