WASHINGTON – Democrats will hold their 2020 presidential nominating convention in Milwaukee, the party said Monday, attempting to shore up support in a traditionally blue state that President Donald Trump won in the last election.

The selection of the city is part of a strategy by Democrats to put more emphasis on once-dependable regions in the upper Midwest that 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton neglected in her presidential run.

The convention will be held July 13-16, more than a month before Republicans gather August 24-27 in Charlotte.
Democrats held their 2016 convention in Philadelphia and nominee Hillary Clinton concentrated considerable time and money around the city and across Pennsylvania only to come up short there.

Milwaukee has never hosted a major party convention and is smaller than the other two finalists, Miami Beach and Houston. The city was still able to meet the minimum qualifications to be included, such as having 15,000 hotel rooms within a 20-minute drive of the main convention area.

It was seen as having a strong shot because of its cooler weather and symbolism as outreach to Midwestern voters with whom Democrats struggled in 2016, though the party made gains in the region in House and statewide races in 2018. Trump was the first Republican presidential nominee to win Wisconsin since Ronald Reagan carried 49 states in 1984.

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