Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Democratic officials eager to score the 2024 party convention for their city learned pretty quickly that there was one method above all others to win the bid: appeal to President Joe Biden\u2019s sense of nostalgia.<\/p>\n
Over the course of several weeks, organizers in Chicago, Atlanta and New York did just that.<\/p>\n
One party official said it was clear that some people around the president and possibly Biden himself were sentimental about the idea of holding the convention in Atlanta, after Democrats won two Senate seats there and the Peach State helped boost Biden to victory over Trump in 2020.<\/p>\n
Another official noted a letter sent by labor leaders from New York that implored Biden to choose a labor town, owing to his emotional ties and political connections to the union movement.<\/p>\n
Chicago labor leaders sent a letter of their own. The larger Chicago team felt increasingly confident about its chances through last week. But they knew it was a done deal when Biden and Gov. JB Pritzker spoke early Tuesday, when the Illinois Democrat played up the president\u2019s love of the country\u2019s iconic cities.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicago is your kind of town and we\u2019re going to throw a huge party for you,\u201d Pritzker said, according to a person close to the Chicago bid who was granted anonymity to discuss the conversation candidly.<\/p>\n
Biden gave him the news on the call, after which the Democratic National Committee put out an announcement saying the city would host delegates and convention-goers Aug. 19-22, 2024.<\/p>\n
The announcement was a coup for Pritzker and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who is vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and early on nudged Chicago Democrats to try for the convention. But it also revealed some of the thinking inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where Biden is eyeing both reelection and a memorable convention after having had to skip the festivities in Milwaukee during the pandemic in 2020.<\/p>\n
Biden had struggled with deciding which of the three cities to pick, even quipping to confidants at one point about why Democrats couldn\u2019t simply hold the confab in Philadelphia, according to a person familiar with the exchange. Philadelphia had not actually applied to host the convention, though it did enjoy one strategic advantage over the other cities: a proximity to Biden\u2019s cherished Delaware.<\/p>\n
Privately, Biden thought of Atlanta as a smart strategic choice, noting that it was a swing state that could propel him to another term if he ran again. He had already moved Georgia up in the Democratic primary calendar.<\/p>\n
But his views were at odds with those in the party who convinced his team, which conceded that Atlanta simply didn\u2019t make sense logistically. Though the city is increasingly powering Democrats to victory in some key races, it is still nestled in a conservative Southern state, with a six-week abortion ban in place.<\/p>\n
Georgia is also a right-to-work state and has few unionized hotels compared with Chicago. Another party official noted it would be easier for Biden and the convention committee to work with Pritzker compared with Georgia\u2019s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, who is increasingly eyeing a national profile (Democrats had been working more with Atlanta\u2019s mayor, rather than with Kemp).<\/p>\n
Still, Illinois and Chicago elected officials were fearful that Biden\u2019s sentimentality about Atlanta would win out. And so they and their neighbors made a full-court press of their own. When the DNC came to Chicago to discuss the city\u2019s bid, they happened to be there during Lollapalooza\u2019s kickoff. Mayor Lori Lightfoot took them to watch Metallica warm up in an empty Grant Park.<\/p>\n
Later in the process, Midwestern governors<\/a> and other elected officials, along with Midwest state Democratic Party chairs<\/a> and union leaders sent letters to Biden urging him to pick Chicago. They also talked to his team directly, underscoring how critical the Midwest region had been to him in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Midwest is key to a victory in 2024, and there is no city better positioned to reach those voters than Chicago,\u201d Duckworth said in a statement. She had privately appealed to Biden with this message, too.<\/p>\n But even those pitches were coated with the type of odes to history that organizers believed were critical for winning Biden over.<\/p>\n \u201cChicago is an engine for progress. Chicago proudly represents millions of Democratic voters and is an historic Democratic stronghold. Given Detroit already won the honor of hosting the 2024 NFL Draft, it would be right to share in the victories with a nearly as great Midwestern city,\u201d Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote in her personal letter.<\/a><\/p>\n There was concern, however, about Chicago\u2019s persistent problem with violent crime. Statistics showed it was declining but still higher than pre-pandemic levels, making it an issue in the recent mayor\u2019s race and a concern that it could put Democrats in a hot spot for their handling of it.<\/p>\n What ended up helping Chicago, according to a person close to the city\u2019s bid, were two recent Democratic wins on the issue of abortion. The first was for a state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, which will likely help block an 1840s abortion ban on the books. The second was Whitmer repealing the state\u2019s 1931 abortion ban. Each affirmed that progressive politics continues to have a strong foothold in the Midwest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the Blue Wall,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n