Chicago and Atlanta didn’t make the cut as finalists to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention — and while Chicago’s host committee says it’s hopeful the city still has a chance at its 2032 bid, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is blasting out his criticism of DNC Chair Ken Martin’s decision.
“They are afraid to leave their comfort zone and blind to the fact that the South is the answer,” Dickens said in a letter obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. “They are abandoning Atlanta, abandoning the South, and once again abandoning Black voters.”
Chicago’s host committee, which ran Chicago’s 2024 convention, said they were notified on Wednesday that the city didn’t make the final round. The DNC on Thursday released a statement from Martin that said Boston, Denver and Philadelphia are the three finalists for 2028. Martin said the three cities “presented incredibly strong bids” to host the convention and a decision would be made “in the coming months.”
Chicago put together a bid for both the 2028 and 2032 conventions, and the host committee hasn’t been given any information about that 2032 bid — although a source with knowledge of the planning said Chicago is still in consideration. They provided no details on the timing of that announcement.
Chicago’s host committee put up a strong front Thursday in reaction to the news, saying the city is still the strongest contender to host the 2032 DNC, citing its infrastructure and strength of the business, philanthropic and labor communities.
Gov. JB Pritzker would be at the end of his third term for governor come 2032, should he win in November, or he could choose another path and run for president in 2028. Either way, a source close to the governor said he will be involved in the 2032 bid process.
The Atlanta mayor’s office said they weren’t told about the decision before reading about it in the press Thursday. In a sharply worded letter, Dickens said the decision reflects that the DNC “does not consider Atlanta or Georgia relevant to the past, present, or future.”
“It seems that Ken Martin doesn’t even believe himself when he said that the road to the White House runs through the South,” Dickens said.
Dickens noted Atlanta hasn’t hosted a convention in nearly 40 years.
“At a time when Trump and the Supreme Court are minimizing Black electoral power we need a party that would come to Atlanta and galvanize the Southeast for 2028 and beyond,” Dickens said. “Real leaders produce for the present and the future.”
Of Martin’s leadership, Dickens said, he’s “ready for Democratic leadership that understands what every Democratic voter already knows: that this is a moment that demands we run toward battles and into the fight.”
The DNC declined to comment on Dickens’ letter. But the DNC voted last week to approve a slate of six early states to lead the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, including South Carolina with the first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 22, 2028.
Pritzker and his top aides, along with Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Mayor Brandon Johnson and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, helped secure the 2024 bid. A 2028 Chicago convention would have helped Pritzker’s nomination prospects in what is expected to be a crowded field of primary presidential challengers, if he chooses to run.
Those who were part of the Chicago bid said they showed that the Democratic city already has a “turnkey operation here.”
The 2024 DNC in Chicago generated $371 million in economic impact — and the host committee raised $97 million in cash or in-kind contributions and spent $83 million. Pritzker gave $2.6 million and first lady MK Pritzker donated $3 million. Of the $83 million reported in expenditures by the host committee, Development Now for Chicago, a total of $49 million was paid to Chicago-based businesses. Another $7 million went to firms based elsewhere in Illinois. The 2024 convention carried no debt to the city, the state or the DNC, and that’s considered a big selling point for Democratic leaders involved in the process.
Pritzker was largely credited with helping to land the 2024 convention and seemed to enjoy a huge spotlight brought on the city as its social chair of sorts. The governor said in May he would once again contribute if Chicago secured the convention, but would not say how much.