“When it comes to logistics, venue, capacity, all that, there’s no city that can put on an event like Houston,” said the city’s mayor, Sylvester Turner. | Scott Halleran/Getty Images Houston makes big play for Democratic convention The location would send an ambitious message about the party’s future.

CHICAGO — Houston plied Democratic Party officials with brisket and a macaroni bar. Miami Beach rented a boat. Milwaukee is shuttling in basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

As the Democratic National Committee gathers in Chicago for its annual summer meeting, the three cities competing to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention are putting on the hard sell.


None had as robust a presence as Houston, which appears to have nudged ahead in the early running, mostly because of the city’s large number of hotel rooms, according to several DNC members and officials close to the selection process. But Milwaukee has made a compelling political case for the Midwest, and no site holds a lock on the convention.

Thus the booze-soaked, city-selection sideshow unfolding here.

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On Thursday night, DNC members boarded shuttles to Chicago’s Navy Pier to drink mojitos aboard the decks of the Odyssey — courtesy of Miami Beach — then returned to a convention hotel where Houston plastered its name on everything from room keys to the building’s walls and staircases.

“When it comes to logistics, venue, capacity, all that, there’s no city that can put on an event like Houston,” said the city’s mayor, Sylvester Turner.

In addition to its hotel capacity, Houston — the only city not located in a swing state — has impressed some Democrats with the prospect of an over-the-top, everything-is-bigger-in-Texas style convention. If selected, the location would send an ambitious message about the party’s future. Though Texas almost certainly will not be competitive in 2020, shifting demographics are widely expected to put the now-red state in play in coming decades.

Yet Houston is not known for pleasant summer temperatures, and a smaller city that is, Milwaukee, has piqued DNC members’ interest, too. The Democratic Party’s grief over the 2016 election remains especially raw in Wisconsin, which Donald Trump flipped red for the first time since 1984. Offering Milwaukee the convention would be seen as evidence of a recommitment to Wisconsin after Hillary Clinton failed to appear at all in the state during the 2016 general election campaign.

“Please join Milwaukee 2020 for a special Wisconsin tradition — the Friday Fish Fry!” an invitation for an event on Friday read. “Joining us for the evening will be NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. You’ll have a chance to unwind, enjoy some authentic Milwaukee food and beer, have your photo taken with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and learn why the Brew City is the best place to host our 2020 convention.”

Like Milwaukee, Miami Beach is situated in a classic battleground state that Trump carried in 2016. But its selection would represent the third straight convention held in the Eastern time zone, and some DNC members have argued for more geographic diversity, said Chris Reeves, a DNC member from Kansas.

Still, Reeves said that to him, “all three cities are great.”

DNC officials have visited Houston and are scheduled to visit Milwaukee and Miami Beach in the coming weeks, obsessing over cities’ convention space, hotel room availability and traffic.

New York Assemblyman Michael Blake, vice chairman of the DNC, said the cities all represent “different approaches” to 2020 but that so far, “I don’t think there’s a favorite among the three.”

Landing a national convention can be a source of pride for host cities, with officials touting the benefits of increased visibility and spending by convention-goers. Politically, however, the significance of convention’s location is less clear.

Though often held in swing states, party conventions are almost entirely orchestrated for — and consumed by — a national audience on TV. In 2016, Democrats met in Pennsylvania and Republicans convened in Ohio — Trump carried both states. Four years earlier, Mitt Romney defeated President Barack Obama in North Carolina, where Democrats gathered, while Obama carried Florida, site of that year’s Republican convention.

The DNC is not expected to select a location for the convention until after the mid-term elections.

In addition to the three cities working the convention halls this week, Atlanta, Birmingham, Denver, New York and San Francisco all responded to an initial request for proposals from the DNC. The DNC narrowed the list to Houston, Miami Beach, Milwaukee, and Denver earlier this year. But Denver withdrew its bid after the convention dates were announced.

Mingling in the crowd at the Hyatt Regency on Thursday night, Turner ticked off Houston’s logistical advantages before turning to the city’s on-site advertising campaign. Bumper stickers and luggage tags were left for DNC members on the bar tables.

“It’s a political convention,” Turner said. “Details matter.”

And in the spirit of salesmanship, the mayor tread carefully around the most divisive issue hanging over the summer meeting: A proposal to reduce the influence of superdelegates in the presidential nominating process.

Asked about the measure, Turner said, “We’ll host whether they have superdelegates — or no delegates at all.”

Natasha Korecki contributed to this report.

