The Democratic National Committee has set Aug. 7–10, 2028, for its presidential nominating convention and has shortlisted five cities to host the event: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia, according to people familiar with planning. At the same time, the party has decided not to hold a convention-style event focused on the upcoming midterm elections — a departure from Republicans, who have been moving toward a midterm convention that former President Donald Trump has publicly promoted.
DNC Executive Director Roger Lau described the choice as a strategic allocation of resources, saying the committee will concentrate where it believes money and effort will have the most impact. The party points to the playbook that helped win key races in 2025 and intends to apply similar tactics in the run-up to 2026 and 2028 rather than staging a large midterm convention.
Trump has pushed the idea of a midterm convention as a way to highlight Republican accomplishments since 2024. In a social media post last year he said Republicans planned a midterm convention “to show the great things we have done since the Presidential Election of 2024,” calling it an exciting event. The Republican National Committee criticized the DNC’s decision not to hold a midterm convention; RNC spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said Democrats can’t afford such an event and accused them of avoiding a public showcase of their agenda.
Presidential-year conventions remain major platforms for nominees and for elevating lesser-known party figures, but it is uncertain whether a midterm convention would have comparable influence in today’s political climate. Control of Congress is a core consideration: if Democrats win back the House, they could check much of a president’s agenda in the final two years of a term; Republicans, who hold unified control after 2024, have a window to advance priorities that could affect voter decisions in November.
Political conditions this cycle differ from 2018, when Democrats netted roughly 40 House seats amid backlash to Trump-era policies. The 2026 map looks tighter, and more Republican candidates appear willing to align closely with Trump than some did in 2018, when several GOP incumbents distanced themselves from the president.
Fundraising also shapes party strategy. Federal filings through the end of January showed the RNC with nearly $102 million on hand, while the DNC reported about $15 million in cash and carried more than $17 million in debt, figures that factor into decisions about where to invest in advertising, field operations and events.
Democrats point to strong 2025 results — including gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia — as momentum heading into this year’s contests. The DNC says its convention planning and resource allocation are aimed at recovering from 2024 setbacks and building toward the 2028 campaign.
The five finalist cities carry different political signals. Chicago hosted the 2024 convention; Boston, Denver and Philadelphia have each been recent hosts and are familiar venues for national party events. Selecting Atlanta would highlight Georgia’s rise as a battleground state amid heightened scrutiny after an FBI search in late January at Fulton County election offices tied to alleged issues with ballots from the 2020 era — an investigation that drew national attention even as state officials have defended election integrity.
The DNC has not yet announced when it will choose the final host city. Party Chairman Ken Martin said the committee is moving ahead with plans for the 2028 convention as part of its broader effort to retake the White House and advance priorities for working families.