Denver is a finalist for the 2028 Democratic National Convention

If the city wins its bid, it could draw tens of thousands of people to Colorado and once again put Denver at center stage as the Democratic Party races toward the next presidential election. 

Denver last hosted the DNC in 2008, when Barack Obama accepted the nomination at the Denver Broncos’ stadium ahead of his successful first presidential campaign.

“I’m thrilled the Democratic National Committee is considering Denver as the host city for the 2028 convention,” Mayor Mike Johnston said in a news release. “Denver not only offers everything a successful convention needs, but we are a shining example of how to lead America forward by dreaming big and delivering bigger.”

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia also are frontrunners, CBS News reported Monday, and the convention is expected to be held Aug. 7-10, 2028.

Las Vegas and San Antonio also were believed to have submitted bids, CBS reported earlier.

Denver's 2028 bid drew support from all of the state’s Democratic lawmakers in Congress.

In a December letter, they called Obama’s 2008 speech “one of the most iconic moments in convention history." The letter boasted about the city’s sports stadiums and their close proximity to downtown, as well as a “seamless connection” to “one of the busiest airports in the world.”

Johnston’s announcement also included supportive comments from Gov. Jared Polis, Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval and Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib, as well as business and labor leaders.

In  2008, Denver beat out New York, the only other final-stage candidate, to host the convention. Obama accepted the nomination before some 84,000 people at Invesco Field at Mile High, now known as Empower Field at Mile High. The convention itself was held at the Pepsi Center, now known as Ball Arena.

The 2008 convention also saw an anti-war concert by Rage Against the Machine at the Denver Coliseum and a sizable protest march afterward. The city later paid $200,000 and changed police policies to settle a lawsuit over mass arrests of protesters near Civic Center. An ABC News producer was arrested for attempting to take pictures of Democratic officials as they left the Brown Palace Hotel.

The convention drew thousands of federal agents. Denver police mobilized 1,500 officers from around the region for the response and spent $2.1 million on protective gear, $1.4 million on barricades and $850,000 on other supplies, The New York Times reported. Law enforcement often uses the events to test new technologies. 

Colorado plays a different role in national politics today. At the time of the 2008 election, Democrats were still hoping to flip the state; it had gone for Republican President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Democrats saw a Denver convention as a way to rally support in a “purple” state. But the state has exclusively gone for Democrats in presidential campaigns in the years since. 

Hosting the convention would require coordinating with the Trump administration. Some Democrats have expressed concerns that the federal government will not provide money and other assistance to help with security.

The Democrats will likely announce the host city in the first quarter of 2027, based on the timing of previous announcements. Conventions are most often held in August of the election year, though some have been held in July or even early September.

The city has never hosted a Republican National Convention, though it made a bid and lost in 2016. Denver previously hosted the DNC in 1908, when progressive William Jennings Bryan was nominated. He lost to William Howard Taft.