Atlanta Makes Its Case for 2028 Democratic Convention

Georgia Democrats spent this week making the case to Democratic National Committee (DNC) leadership that the party’s future runs through the South, as Atlanta became the first of five finalist cities to host a site visit for the 2028 Democratic National Convention.

DNC chairman Ken Martin has been in Atlanta this week alongside members of the party’s Technical Advisory Group. The committee will also visit Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Philadelphia, according to a March 2 DNC statement announcing the finalists. The convention is scheduled for Aug. 7 to Aug. 10, 2028.

Charlie Bailey, chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party, made the most direct political case at an April 23 news conference, framing Atlanta’s bid as a test of whether Democrats will invest in battleground territory.

“The future of politics and the future of the Democratic Party is in the South,” he said.

Bailey argued that Georgia has become a national bellwether, citing the state’s shift into battleground territory after former President Joe Biden carried it in 2020 and Georgia voters elected Democrats Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate.

Republican President Donald Trump won the state back in 2024, and Ossoff’s reelection bid this fall will test whether Democratic support has grown.

“Georgia has moved,” Bailey said. “We are already the median, what the country is.”

He told Martin that he “could send no stronger signal about the future of the Democratic Party” than to come to Atlanta and “plant the flag” to win the South.

“We will turn Georgia from a battleground state into a Democratic state,” Bailey said.

Atlanta last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1988. Every other finalist has hosted more recently—Chicago in 2024, Philadelphia in 2016, Denver in 2008, and Boston in 2004.

Martin praised Bailey and the Atlanta delegation but did not signal a preference on the decision.

“We have five great cities bidding for this opportunity, and we look forward to continuing the conversation with each of them as we select a host for our 2028 and, potentially, for our 2032 convention,” he said.

Martin said the committee is looking for more than logistics. “We also seek a city that shares our values,” he said.

Rival bidding cities have raised concerns about Atlanta’s lack of union presence, noting that Georgia is a right-to-work state with less organized labor than northern finalists.

Bailey framed the labor issue as a reason for Democrats to come to contested states rather than wait for ideal conditions.

“You’ve got to win elections,” he said. “And to win elections, you’ve got to show you care, and to show you care, you’ve got to show up.”

When asked whether the outcome of Georgia’s 2026 elections would weigh on the DNC’s decision, Bailey said he did not believe that it would, calling Georgia “a coin flip kind of state” regardless of the result.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said he hoped for a quick decision and suggested that the DNC could use a host city selection as “motivation going into the 2026 November election.” He said the committee would likely spend “late summer, early fall, doing a whole lot of math and thinking” before choosing a city. The DNC has not committed to a timeline.

A March statement from the DNC notes that site visits would assess the logistical and operational components of each bid, including partnerships with local community, political, and business leaders; alignment with Democratic values; and a willingness to use “new and innovative approaches.”

In a statement at the time, Martin said the 2028 convention was “another critical step toward retaking the White House.”