The Milwaukee skyline looking west from Lake Michigan is pictured on Oct. 7, 2015. | Carrie Antlfinger/AP Photo Milwaukee steps up pitch for Dem convention

They’re trying to ensure the 2020 Democratic nominee makes at least one more stop in Wisconsin than Hillary Clinton did.

Thursday night in Washington, the people pushing Milwaukee’s bid for the next Democratic convention made the case directly to party insiders at a reception during the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Washington, complete with a raffle of Bucks,


Brewers and Packers gear displayed on cheesehead hats and a brief stop-by from DNC chair Tom Perez which he stressed was not an endorsement.

“The big argument for Milwaukee is that it’s got an incredible story to tell about where the country is going,” said Alex Lasry, the senior vice president of the Bucks and the chair of the 2020 bid effort.

To Lasry and the bipartisan network of business and political leaders — with the overall support of Republican Gov. Scott Walker — who have been putting together what has become the first fully-fledged city bid (the Request for Proposal isn’t even expected to go out for weeks), it’s about getting Milwaukee the recognition as a major America that they say it is. That includes pushing back on the idea that the city is too small to handle the event, which Lasry calls “one of those preconceived notions people have, and that’s part of why we’re really pushing this.”

But there’s also a very partisan, Democratic pitch about putting the convention in Milwaukee as the first brick in rebuilding the “blue wall” that Donald Trump knocked down in 2016.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“What can happen here,” said Wisconsin Democratic chair Martha Laning at the reception, “is we can bring the Democratic Party to the heartland.”

Proponents like to point out that there’s never been a political convention in Wisconsin, and there hasn’t been a Democratic convention in the Midwest since Chicago in 1996.

After the DNC process starts this spring, it’s expected to take about a year. Other cities expected to be in contention include Phoenix, Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio. The DNC declined comment on the process.

On top of the politics of connecting with Wisconsin and the Midwest and the narrative of a retooled industrial city on the rise, the Milwaukee proponents also note that their city is both easy to get around in and has more moderate weather in the summer.

“No one originally thinks of Milwaukee,” Lasry said. “And then you mention it, and they say, ‘That makes a ton of sense.’”