CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot promised a “best ever” Democratic National Convention that will power President Joe Biden to a second term. Party officials jokingly predicted Wednesday’s splendid weather will carry over to August 2024.
And Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, grinning ear to ear at a triumphant press conference, said the Windy City would serve as an ideal backdrop for the liberal policies Democrats must promote to win battleground states across the Midwest.
“We are a reflection of the nation and the policies that lift up working families,” he said. “A convention in Chicago, the center of the ‘blue wall’ of key states like Wisconsin and Michigan and Minnesota, will show that Democrats don’t take this region for granted.”
This was supposed to be Atlanta’s shining moment. Georgia Democrats brimmed with confidence that Atlanta would land the convention, so certain that officials labeled it a sure thing and the City Council voted to line up vendor contracts.
Earlier this week, Atlanta officials prepared for a celebratory press conference amid assurances from their national contacts. On Tuesday after Biden declared his decision on a host city, it was Chicago Democrats who quickly assembled a victory lap.
Their event Wednesday was held before a cloudless sky at the Shedd Aquarium, a stately lakefront attraction with a commanding view of Chicago. It sits a short walk from the nexus of upscale hotels and restaurants that will house, feed and entertain the thousands of visitors next year.
If there was a common theme from the Windy City delegation, it was that Chicago could handle this scale of an event without breaking a sweat.
The city hosts a half-dozen conventions far bigger than the Democratic gathering every year, and it has held more political conventions than any other U.S. city.
“We were looking for a turnkey operation,” said Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee. “And I’m confident that Chicago will deliver that with a successful convention and a memorable experience for our delegates, our guests and members of the media.”
‘Higher stage’
For all its political significance and historic relevancy, Atlanta couldn’t meet the same promises that Chicago dangled.
Perhaps the most important starts with Pritzker, the ambitious billionaire Democrat who has suggested he and his allies could help finance the event themselves.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Pritzker’s deep pockets were the biggest factor in Chicago’s victory. The Illinois governor was more circumspect.
“What I guaranteed is that I and the committee we put together will work extraordinarily hard to raise all the dollars necessary,” he said.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Georgia’s Republican-led hostility toward organized labor also contrasted sharply with Chicago’s embrace of unions, no doubt a factor for Biden as he tries to meet his pledge to be the “most pro-union president” in U.S. history.
And while a Democratic convention in Georgia would bring attention to anti-abortion limits and permissive gun laws enacted by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, Chicago touted it could present a united Democratic front showcasing a liberal agenda.
“We have all worked seamlessly to make sure that we put together a united bid,” Lightfoot said. “This is important because it takes all of us — it’s going to take a village to showcase the city on a higher stage.”
‘Multiple options’
Another driving factor is Biden’s strategic aim to reestablish the mighty Democratic “blue wall” in the Upper Midwest whose erosion in 2016 paved the way for Donald Trump’s victory.
Biden recaptured Michigan and Wisconsin in 2020, and keeping those states in his column is a centerpiece of his reelection plan.
So is retaining Georgia after Biden became the first Democratic presidential contender to carry the state since 1992. But the surrounding region’s rightward shift could have made Atlanta a less tantalizing beachhead for the White House.
“Biden has made no secret he wants to attract more moderate white voters back to the party,” said DeKalb County Chief Executive Michael Thurmond, one of the state’s most prominent Democrats.
“And the blue wall in the Midwest is critical. There’s really no other Southern state in play but Georgia, but in the Midwest there are multiple options. That’s the difference.”
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
At Wednesday’s event, Harrison took pains to praise Atlanta’s bid and noted that Biden also proposed moving Georgia earlier in the primary calendar.
“If I could have given out three bids for the 2024, ‘28 and ‘32, I would have. Each one of those cities was very unique. They had their own stories they could tell,” the DNC chair said.
“It was a very, very, very hard choice,” Harrison said. “In the end, we chose Chicago, and I think Chicago is going to be fantastic.”
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