In three years, an American city will host a fierce competition among diverse teams. No, not the Olympics — the Democratic National Convention. Choosing a host city that can showcase the party’s strengths and mask its weaknesses will be an Olympian challenge.

Democrats face a fundamental problem: They have lost touch with the middle of the country. They own the coasts. But the so-called “flyover states” dominate the Electoral College, and those states are moving farther out of reach.

Democrats face a true dilemma. They desperately need a stage to prove they can govern, yet no obvious city offers safe ground.

In 2024, Democrats racked up California, New York, Massachusetts, and Washington’s 105 electoral votes by an average margin of 58.2%. But across the remaining 46 states plus Washington, D.C. — worth 433 electoral votes — they managed just 121.

In the “flyover 80%” of America, Democrats won barely a quarter of the vote. That weakness is not a passing problem. If they continue to bleed support outside their coastal strongholds, they will lock themselves out of the White House for good.

Almost a year after their crushing defeat, Democrats remain adrift. Instead of rethinking their message, they cling to the same losing issues: abolishing ICE, defunding the police, hiking taxes, and promoting transgender extremism. The voters have spoken — and rejected all of it.

The numbers are brutal. A recent Wall Street Journal poll put Democrats at a 35-year low, with 63% of Americans holding an unfavorable view of the party. Other surveys tell the same story.

No place to rebrand

The problem goes deeper than branding. Democrats need more than a new message. They need new issues, new leadership, and a new standard-bearer. Before any of that, though, they need a place to sort out the wreckage.

Republicans have already picked Houston for their 2028 convention. Decision made. For Democrats, as usual, nothing comes quickly — or easily. Even choosing a city exposes the chaos inside the party.

The last 10 Democratic conventions were held in Chicago (2024), Milwaukee (2020), Philadelphia (2016), Charlotte (2012), Denver (2008), Boston (2004), Los Angeles (2000), Chicago (1996), New York (1992), and Atlanta (1988). Big cities, yes — but half were in states that Democrats already win with ease. Those venues provide a friendly reception but do little to help Democrats reconnect with the rest of America.

If Democrats want to matter in 2028, they need to focus on battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Nevada. Yet Milwaukee hosted just two conventions ago, and Philadelphia just three. Phoenix or Las Vegas might make sense, but neither city seems interested.

For now, the reported contenders are New Orleans, San Antonio, and Chicago.

Three cities, many problems

New Orleans, colorful as always, may be too colorful: Mayor LaToya Cantrell has been indicted for using public funds to cover up a three-year affair with a cop. The city is also in Louisiana, which Democrats lost by 22 points.

San Antonio’s mayor, Gina Ortiz Jones, is also courting the convention. In a July 1 letter, Ortiz wrote: “Our city — bold, inclusive, and emblematic of the American future — would be a fitting and inspiring home for this historic event.”

Texas Democrats’ recent walkout over redistricting may endear San Antonio to the party’s national brethren, but Republicans have already claimed Houston. Also, Democrats lost Texas by 14 points.

Chicago wants another turn, even after hosting in 2024. But the city also has an enormous crime problem, a failing city government on the verge of complete collapse (wholly owned by Democrats, of course), and “America’s worst mayor.”

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Other reports suggest that Charlotte and Nashville are also interested. Charlotte, in a swing state, at least makes some sense. But Democrats were there in 2012. And both North Carolina and Tennessee sit in Democrats’ weakest region: the South, where they only carried Virginia in 2024 and lost Tennessee by nearly 30 points.

The rebrand dilemma

Democrats face a true dilemma. They desperately need a stage to prove they can govern, yet no obvious city offers safe ground. The last thing the party wants is to spotlight its own failures — crime, illegal immigration, defunded police, transgender sanctuaries, looming bankruptcies, punishing taxes, and mass flight from blue cities.

But nearly every Democratic stronghold tells that story.

The party doesn’t just need a reintroduction. It needs a reinvention. And if choosing a convention site proves this difficult, it signals how long — and how painful — that reinvention will be.