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Columbus Officials Lobbying Democratic Party For 2016 National Convention
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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Not even a day after three Ohio cities submitted to host the 2016 Republican National Convention, Columbus officials are trying to persuade the Democratic Party to hold its convention in Columbus.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman hosted a huge party in Washington for Democrats from across the country for a fighting spirit to win the elections in the swing state Ohio.
"We're playing to win, and that's what this is all about," Coleman said. "We want to win the convention tour so we're going to do all the things we can do to get it."
While Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland are competing with Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Kansas City for the Republican convention, Cleveland and Columbus also have launched efforts to land the Democratic convention.
The last time Ohio hosted a political convention was in Cleveland in 1936, when Republicans nominated Alf Landon to face President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Unlike in 1936, conventions are big business now. Officials said one could pump as much as $200 million into the economy of the winning city.