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A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpose of such a convention is to select the party's nominee for popular election as President, as well as to adopt a statement of party principles and goals known as the party platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process for the next election cycle.
Since 1972, most of the delegates have been selected in presidential primaries state by state. Other delegates to these conventions include political party members who are seated automatically, and are called "unpledged delegates" because they can choose for themselves for which candidate they vote. The pledged delegates determined by the primaries generally allow the nominees to be decided before the convention opens, but if no single candidate has secured a majority of both pledged and unpledged delegates then a "brokered convention" results. All pledged delegates in a brokered convention are then "released" and can switch their allegiance to a different candidate so a re-vote would result in a clear majority.
Generally, use of "presidential campaign nominating convention" refers to the two major parties' quadrennial events: the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Some minor parties also select their nominees by convention, including the Green Party, the Socialist Party USA, the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, and the Reform Party USA. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced both the major and third parties to cancel their usual conventions that year and instead schedule virtual affairs with minimal participation, as large energetic crowds risked spreading the virus.
History
There is no provision for the role of political parties in the United States Constitution, since the Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, wrote specifically about the dangers of domestic political factions. Thus in the first two presidential elections, the Electoral College handled the nominations and elections in 1789 and 1792 that selected George Washington. The beginnings of the American two-party system then emerged from Washington's immediate circle of advisors. Hamilton and Madison, who wrote the aforementioned Federalist Papers against political factions, ended up being the core leaders in this partisanship: Hamilton became the leader of the Federalist Party while Madison co-helmed the Democratic-Republican Party with Thomas Jefferson.[1][2]
Starting with the 1796 election, congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party's presidential candidates.[3] That system collapsed in 1824, and since 1832 the preferred mechanism for nomination has been a national convention.[4] Delegates to the national convention were usually selected at state conventions whose own delegates were chosen by district conventions. Sometimes they were dominated by intrigue between political bosses who controlled delegates; the national convention was far from democratic or transparent.
Progressive Era reformers then looked to the primary election as a way to measure popular opinion of candidates, as opposed to the opinion of the bosses. Florida enacted the first presidential primary in 1901. The Wisconsin direct open primary of 1905 was the first to eliminate the caucus and mandate direct selection of national convention delegates. In 1910, Oregon became the first state to establish a presidential preference primary, which requires delegates to the National Convention to support the winner of the primary at the convention. The impetus for national adoption of the binding primary election was the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured the presidential nomination despite not winning a single primary under his own name. After this, a Democratic National Committee-commissioned panel led by Senator George McGovern – the McGovern–Fraser Commission – recommended that states adopt new rules to assure wider participation. A large number of states, faced with the need to conform to more detailed rules for the selection of national delegates in 1972, chose a presidential primary as an easier way to come into compliance with the new national Democratic Party rules. The result was that many more future delegates would be selected by a state presidential primary. The Republicans also adopted many more state presidential primaries.
Logistics
Calendars
The convention cycle begins with the Call to Convention. Usually issued about 18 months in advance, the Call is an invitation from the national party to the state and territory parties to convene to select a presidential nominee. It also sets out the number of delegates to be awarded to each, as well as the rules for the nomination process. The conventions are usually scheduled for four days of business, with the exception of the 1972 Republican and 2012 Democratic conventions, which were scheduled for three days each. (The 2008 and 2012 Republican conventions were also three days each, but in each case was shortened from the scheduled four days due to weather issues.)
There is no statute dictating the order of the conventions, but since 1936 the party to which the incumbent president belongs has held its convention second. Between 1864 and 1952, the Democrats went second every year (except for 1888). In 1956, when Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was the incumbent, the Democrats went first for the first time since 1888. So from 1936 to 1952, during administrations led by Democratic presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, the Democrats had their convention after the Republicans, but it is unclear whether they went second because they held the White House or because they had almost always gone second. 1956 became the first year it was clear a party went second because they were the party of the incumbent, and that "rule" has been followed ever since.
Major party conventions from the start through 1948 were mostly held in May and June, with a few exceptions. This might have been due to the lack of air conditioning – the last conventions held without air conditioning were in 1948.[5] Since 1952, all major party conventions have been held in the months of July, August or (for the first time in 2004), finishing in early September. Between the middle of the 20th century and 2004, the two major party conventions were primarily scheduled about one month apart, often with the Summer Olympics in between so they did not have to compete for viewers. In 1996, both were held in August to accommodate the Atlanta Olympics in July, the last Summer Olympics to date to be hosted in the U.S. In 2000, both conventions preceded the Sydney Olympics in late September.
In 2008 and 2012, the Democratic and Republican conventions were scheduled for back-to-back weeks following the conclusion of the Beijing and London Olympics, respectively, resulting in the conventions starting in September for the first time (Democrats in 2008, Republicans in 2012). One reason for these late conventions had to do with campaign finance laws, which allow the candidates to spend an unlimited amount of money before the convention, but forbid fundraising after the convention, for the parties to receive federal campaign funds.[6] But moving the conventions into early September led to conflicts with the National Football League's season kickoff game, which is usually held on the first Thursday after Labor Day in September. (The NFL accommodated the conventions and moved its game to an earlier start time in 2008,[7] and to a rare Wednesday in 2012. Convention dates in 2004, 2016 and 2020 did not conflict with the NFL schedule, and the planned dates for 2024 do not conflict either). Additionally, election laws in some states would likely prevent conventions from moving later into mid-September.
However, Barack Obama's choice not to receive federal campaign funds for the 2008 general election started a trend, and so the campaign finance reason for the late scheduling of conventions has no longer been valid.
Finally, within the above general constraints, and the variable scheduling of the Olympics, political reasons can also drive the schedules. For example, the Democratic Party held its 2008 convention after the Beijing Olympics to "maximize momentum for our Democratic ticket in the final months of the Presidential election".[8] In 2016, both the Republican and Democratic conventions moved to July, before the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August. One reason why the Republican Party wanted a July convention was to help avoid a drawn-out primary battle similar to what happened in 2012 that left the party fractured heading into the general election. The Democrats then followed suit so they could provide a quicker response to the Republicans, rather than wait for a month until after the Olympics were over.[9]
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was originally scheduled to take place July 13–16,[10] but was postponed to August 17–20, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Republican National Convention took place as scheduled from August 24–27.[11] The Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled to open on July 24, 2020, were also postponed, because of the pandemic, to July 2021. This was the first time that nominating conventions did not coincide with the Olympics since 1944, when the games were cancelled due to World War II.
The schedule for 2024 returns to the standard for most of the late 20th century, with the conventions bracketing the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles start a little earlier, in mid-July, and this could therefore have an effect on the schedule for the two 2028 conventions.
Participation
Each party sets its own rules for the participation and format of the convention. Broadly speaking, each U.S. state and territory party is apportioned a select number of voting representatives, individually known as delegates and collectively as the delegation. Each party uses its own formula for determining the size of each delegation, factoring in such considerations as population, proportion of that state's Congressional representatives or state government officials who are members of the party, and the state's voting patterns in previous presidential elections. The selection of individual delegates and their alternates, too, is governed by the bylaws of each state party, or in some cases by state law.
The 2004 Democratic National Convention counted 4,353 delegates and 611 alternates. The 2004 Republican National Convention had 2,509 delegates and 2,344 alternates. However, other attendees who do not participate in the formal business of the convention dwarf these individuals numerically. These include non-delegate party officials and activists, invited guests and companions, and international observers, not to mention numerous members of the news media, volunteers, protesters, and local business proprietors and promoters hoping to capitalize on the quadrennial event.
Locations
The convention is typically held in a major city selected by the national party organization 18–24 months before the election is to be held, although the Republican National Committee voted in 2022 to allow the party to select its presidential convention sites six years in advance.[12] As the two major conventions have grown into large, publicized affairs with significant economic impact, cities today compete vigorously to be awarded host responsibilities, citing their meeting venues, lodging facilities, and entertainment as well as offering economic incentives.
The location of early conventions was dictated by the difficulty of transporting delegates from far-flung parts of the country; early Democratic and Whig Conventions were frequently held in the central Eastern Seaboard port of Baltimore, Maryland. As the U.S. expanded westward and railroads connected cities, Midwestern locations such as Chicago, Illinois—which since 1860 has held 25 Republican and Democratic Conventions combined, more than any other city—became the favored hosts. In present times, political symbolism affects the selection of the host city as much as economic or logistical considerations do. A particular city might be selected to enhance the standing of a favorite son, or in an effort to curry favor with residents of that state. For example, in 2011, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina noted: "We put the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in part because we believe so deeply in" a "New South map."[13] Likewise, New York City was selected as the host of the 2004 Republican National Convention to evoke memories of George W. Bush's leadership during the September 11 attacks. Milwaukee, in the politically competitive state of Wisconsin, was chosen as the site of the 2020 Democratic National Convention (although due to COVID-19 it was essentially not held there), and has been selected to be the host of the subsequent 2024 Republican National Convention.
Having been the site of 25 major party conventions, Chicago, Illinois has been the most frequent host city of major party conventions, hosting more than a quarter of all of them. Chicago has been both the most frequent host of Democratic conventions (hosting 11) and Republican conventions (hosting 14). Chicago was last the site of a major party convention in 1996, when it was the host of that year's Democratic convention. Nine of the conventions held in Chicago took place in the 19th century, and sixteen of them took place in the 20th century. Chicago's frequency as a host significantly dropped-off after the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which saw infamous protest activity and police response, with Chicago only hosting Democratic conventions in 1996 and the upcoming convention in 2024.
In the 19th century, the most frequent host city of major party conventions was Baltimore, Maryland (the site of the first presidential nominating convention[14]). Between 1832 and 1872, Baltimore saw twelve major party conventions. However, the city has only since played host city to a single other major party convention (the 1912 DNC).[15] At the time that it was a frequent host of major party conventions, the city was seen as an appealing location for these events due to its accessibility by various means of transit (railroads, steamships, and turnpikes), the presence of several meeting spaces in the city considered spacious by the era's standards, quality hotels in the city, and quality dining in the city.[16] Baltimore is currently considered to lack an appropriate venue by the standards and requirements of modern conventions in terms of seating capacity, space and logistics.[17][14] When the city made a longshot bid for the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the city proposed hosting the convention underneath a temporary canopy that would be erected at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (which would have likely necessitated its baseball team tenant to vacate the venue for a roughly two-month period of their season).[17] Potential lack of sufficient hotels has also been cited as an obstacle to Baltimore playing host to another major party convention any time soon.[14]
The conventions historically have been held inside convention centers, but in recent decades the two major parties have favored sports arenas and stadiums to accommodate the increasing capacity, the former because indoor arenas are usually off-season outside of WNBA sites, allowing plenty of time for preparation (the major political parties have avoided baseball stadiums ever since the 1992 Republican National Convention at the Houston Astrodome forced the Houston Astros to play 26 consecutive road games). Bids for the 2008 Republican National Convention, for example, were required to have a facility with a seating capacity of at least 20,500 people, including a convention floor of about 5,500 delegates and alternates;[18] the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota was eventually selected. Meanwhile, approximately 84,000 people attended the last day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High.[19] The last day of the 2012 Democratic Convention originally also was scheduled for an outdoor football stadium, but was moved indoors due to weather concerns. Excepting the pandemic-affected 2020 conventions, the last non-sporting venue to host the Democratic National Convention was San Francisco's Moscone Center in 1984. In 1996, the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego became the last non-sporting venue to host the Republican National Convention.
Table of cities (metro areas) by number of major party conventions hosted
Of the 95 major-party conventions held through the 2020 election cycle, 27 different metro areas have hosted conventions. On two occasions, parties had more than one official "host city" for their conventions, these being the 1860 Democratic National Conventions, and the 2020 Republican National Convention.
More than half of all major party conventions have been held in just three cities: Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
On six occasions, both the Democratic and Republican parties held their conventions in the same city. However, this has not occurred since 1972.[20] Chicago played double-duty as a host city four times, in 1884, 1932, 1944, and 1952. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was host of both major-party conventions in 1948, and Miami Beach, Florida was host to both in 1972.
Two metro areas have seen more than one of their municipalities be the site of major party conventions. Minneapolis–Saint Paul is home to Minneapolis (site of the 1892 RNC) and St. Paul (site of the 2008 RNC). The San Francisco Bay Area is home to Daly City (site of the 1956 RNC and 1964 RNC) and San Francisco (site of the 1920 DNC and 1984 DNC).
| Cities/metro-areas | Total number hosted | Democratic conventions |
Republican conventions |
Whig conventions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number hosted | Years | Number hosted | Years | Number hosted | Years | ||
| Chicago, Illinois | 25 | 11 | 1864, 1884, 1892, 1896, 1932, 1940, 1944, 1952, 1956, 1968, 1996 | 14 | 1860, 1868, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1952, 1960 | 0 | — |
| Baltimore, Maryland | 13 | 9 | 1832, 1835, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1860**, 1872, 1912 | 1 | 1864 | 3 | 1844, 1852, 1856 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 10 | 3 | 1936, 1948, 2016 | 6 | 1856, 1872, 1900, 1940, 1948, 2000 | 1 | 1848 |
| New York City | 6 | 5 | 1868, 1924, 1976, 1980, 1992 | 1 | 2004 | 0 | — |
| St. Louis, Missouri | 5 | 4 | 1876, 1888, 1904, 1916 | 1 | 1896 | 0 | — |
| San Francisco Bay Area, California (cities of Daly City and San Francisco) | 4 | 2 | 1920, 1984 | 2 | 1956, 1964 | 0 | — |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 3 | 2 | 1856, 1880 | 1 | 1876 | 0 | — |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 1924, 1936, 2016 | 0 | — |
| Kansas City, Missouri | 3 | 1 | 1900 | 2 | 1928, 1976 | 0 | — |
| Miami Beach, Florida (located in the Miami metropolitan area) | 3 | 1 | 1972 | 2 | 1968, 1972 | 0 | — |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | 2 | 1 | 2012 | 1 | 2020** | 0 | — |
| Denver, Colorado | 2 | 2 | 1908, 2008 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Houston, Texas | 2 | 1 | 1928 | 1 | 1992 | 0 | — |
| Los Angeles, California | 2 | 2 | 1960, 2000 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 1892, 2008 | 0 | — |
| Atlanta, Georgia | 1 | 1 | 1988 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Atlantic City, New Jersey | 1 | 1 | 1964 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 2004 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Charleston, South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1860** | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Dallas, Texas | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 1984 | 0 | — |
| Detroit, Michigan | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 1980 | 0 | — |
| Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | 1 | 1839 |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 2020 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 1988 | 0 | — |
| San Diego, California | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 1996 | 0 | — |
| Tampa, Florida | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 2012 | 0 | — |
| Washington, D.C. | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 2020** | 0 | — |
**Years with multiple convention host cities
Table of states/federal districts by number of major party conventions hosted
As of the 2020 election cycle, nineteen states and the District of Columbia have hosted major party presidential nominating conventions. Thirty-one states have never hosted one (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming).
On the two aforementioned occasions in which more than one city was the host of a major party's convention(s) (the 1860 Democratic conventions and 2020 Republican convention), the different cities were also located in different states/districts.
Of the 95 major party conventions held up through the 2020 election cycle, more than a quarter have taken place in Illinois. Combined, the states of Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have been the sites of more than half of all major party conventions. Combined, the seven states that have each held six or more major party conventions (California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania) have been the locations of more than three-quarters of all major party conventions.
Six states have seen more than one of their metro-areas host a convention: California (Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay area), Florida (Miami Beach and Tampa), Missouri (Kansas City and St. Louis), Ohio (Cincinnati and Cleveland), Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Philadelphia), Texas (Dallas and Houston).
Up through the 2020 election cycle, states located in the midwestern United States (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin) have been the locations of a combined 43 major party conventions. States and districts located in the northeastern United States (the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) have hosted a combined 33 major party conventions. States located in the southern United States (Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas) have hosted a combined 12 major party conventions. States located in the western United States (California and Colorado) have hosted a combined nine major party conventions. The region that has gone the longest since hosting a major party convention is the western United States, which has not been the site of a major party convention since the 2008 DNC was held in Denver, Colorado.
| States | Total number hosted | Democratic conventions |
Republican conventions |
Whig conventions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number hosted | Years | Number hosted | Years | Number hosted | Years | ||
| Illinois (Chicago) |
25 | 11 | 1864, 1884, 1892, 1896, 1932, 1940, 1944, 1952, 1956, 1968, 1996 | 14 | 1860, 1868, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1952, 1960 | 0 | — |
| Maryland (Baltimore) |
13 | 9 | 1832, 1835, 1840, 1844, 1848, 1852, 1860**, 1872, 1912 | 1 | 1864 | 3 | 1844, 1852, 1856 |
| Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Philadelphia) |
11 | 3 | 1936, 1948, 2016 | 6 | 1856, 1872, 1900, 1940, 1948, 2000 | 2 | 1839, 1848 |
| Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis) |
8 | 5 | 1876, 1888, 1900, 1904, 1916 | 3 | 1896, 1928, 1976 | 0 | — |
| California (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay area) |
7 | 4 | 1920, 1960, 1984, 2000 | 3 | 1956, 1964, 1996 | 0 | — |
| New York (New York City) |
6 | 5 | 1868, 1924, 1976, 1980, 1992 | 1 | 2004 | 0 | — |
| Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland) |
6 | 2 | 1856, 1880 | 4 | 1876, 1924, 1936, 2016 | 0 | — |
| Florida (Miami Beach, Tampa) |
4 | 1 | 1972 | 3 | 1968, 1972, 2012 | 0 | — |