This post has been updated.
Some Democratic National Committee staffers are speculating that Miami Beach will not be the host site of the 2020 DNC convention, Politico reported Monday.
While the potential onslaught of Hurricane Florence, as well as the general risk of future hurricanes in that area, were one risk factor associated with Miami Beach, five Democrats with knowledge of the matter told Politico that the city’s time zone and party-city reputation are also risks. Democratic officials are reportedly concerned about housing delegates on cruise ships and appearing as though the party is favorable to the coasts.
“Houston and Milwaukee are the only viable candidates right now,” a DNC member familiar with the matter told Politico.
The DNC on Tuesday pushed back on the notion that they were leaning against Miami Beach.
“The DNC is pleased to be working closely with leaders from Houston, Milwaukee and Miami who all remain in the running to host the 2020 National Democratic Convention,” Jess O’Connell, who is leading site selection for the DNC, said in a statement shared with TPM. “We have visited Houston and Milwaukee, and have yet to even conduct a site visit of Miami Beach. No decisions have been made on our 2020 convention site and any assertions stating otherwise are false and at often times made by blind sources who are not part of the Transition Advisory Group.”
Read the full Politico report here.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Miami Beach was no longer being considered for the DNC convention. The DNC has not made an official decision on the matter.
Houston is certainly a good idea if you’re worried about weather risks.
Milwaukee’s a good choice if you want to dance on Scott Walker’s political grave.
Given the pace of climate change, I don’t think anywhere is particularly immune to major weather events.
Heh. That said, if Democrats do well in Texas this year, or at least better than we have, it would make sense to have the convention in Houston - as a way to celebrate and encourage continuing Democratic values and electoral participation in Texas.
If not, then Milwaukee would be the better choice - no sense in putting up with the August/September heat plus hurricane risk in Houston if there’s no political payoff there.
I’ve never believed that you get any real local advantage from holding your convention in any particular city.
Mitt Romney found out in 2012 why Miami isn’t a good location in August. I genuinely don’t want to slight the city, which otherwise probably has many points in its favor, but the last thing we need is to have the thing shut down due to weather. And no basement is safe there during any storm tide: a problem if all of your servers are in the basement of wherever you are – as a result all of your support infrastructure goes in a trailer which can be evacuated if need be.