The Democratic National Committee eliminated Chicago and Atlanta from 2028 convention consideration, leaving Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as finalists.
The Democratic National Committee has narrowed its list of potential 2028 convention host cities from five to three, eliminating Chicago and Atlanta and advancing Boston, Denver and Philadelphia. The 2028 Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 7-10, 2028, with a host city expected to be selected later this year. Chicago hosted the 2024 convention, where Kamala Harris accepted the party's presidential nomination.
Chicago will not get a second consecutive Democratic National Convention. The Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that it has narrowed its list of potential 2028 host cities from five to three, cutting both Chicago and Atlanta and advancing Boston, Denver and Philadelphia to the final round.
The decision ends a bid Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker had pushed for since shortly after the city hosted the 2024 convention at the United Center, where Kamala Harris accepted the party's presidential nomination. Chicago had submitted bids to host either the 2028 or 2032 convention, but the DNC's move Thursday removes it from contention for 2028 entirely.
The DNC has not explained publicly why Chicago and Atlanta were dropped. Party officials toured all five cities in April and May, evaluating fundraising capacity, hotel and arena availability, and other logistical factors before making their cut. DNC Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement that the three remaining bids are "incredibly strong" and that next year's convention will be an "inspiring celebration of our party's future nominee."
The 2028 convention is scheduled for Aug. 7-10, 2028. The DNC expects to pick a winner among Boston, Denver and Philadelphia later this year.
All three finalists have hosted Democratic conventions before: Boston in 2004, Denver in 2008 and Philadelphia in 2016. Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania, a swing state President Donald Trump carried in 2024. Colorado and Massachusetts have both trended Democratic in recent presidential cycles, similar to Illinois.
Had Chicago's bid succeeded, it would have marked the first time a city hosted back-to-back Democratic conventions since New York City did it in 1976 and 1980. Chicago's own history includes consecutive conventions in 1952 and 1956, but nothing since.
Chicago has hosted more national political conventions than any other American city. The 1968 Democratic National Convention had violent street clashes between police and antiwar demonstrators outside the International Amphitheatre. The city didn't host Democrats again until 1996, when Bill Clinton was renominated at the United Center without incident.
Last year's convention drew tens of thousands of visitors downtown and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, according to city estimates. The Chicago 2024 Host Committee raised more than $90 million, a fundraising record for a national convention. Protests over the war in Gaza drew thousands of demonstrators to march near the United Center during the four-day event, but the convention wrapped up without the violence some had feared.
City and state officials had pointed to that fundraising haul and the smooth handling of large-scale protests as reasons the DNC might want to return. Those arguments didn't sway the committee this time.
Democrats will be selecting a nominee in an open presidential race for the first time since 2020, with no incumbent or clear frontrunner locked in. Houston has already been named the host for the 2028 Republican National Convention.
The DNC has given no specific date for when it will announce the winning city among Boston, Denver and Philadelphia, only saying the decision will come before the end of the year.
