Why the delay? Democrats should hold their 2020 convention in Miami-Dade — period. | Editorial
Miami U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson lays it on the line: “Miami is a microcosm of the world. We have so many nationalities and languages and we embody the values of the Democratic Party. We’re a battleground state, and it would bring so much attention and visibility to the entire state. People would be fired up and ready to vote.”
“We have good weather, tourist attractions. We have water, beaches, cruise ships, nice hotels, nice people.
“What do Milwaukee and Houston have?” she asked the Editorial Board.
We haven’t a clue. But they apparently have enough to keep Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, scratching his head over where to hold the party’s national convention in 2020. The DNC was supposed to select a host city by the end of February. But that deadline came and went.
The last time the Democratic convention was held in Miami-Dade was in 1972. Delegates thought George McGovern and Thomas Eagleton were just the ticket to defeat Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.
They weren’t.
Miami boosters are getting antsy about the delay. We’ll make it easy for the DNC: Miami is the obvious choice.
We have the hospitality expertise and are used to staging outsize events: Super Bowls, Art Basel, NBA championship, World Series.
The convention will be spread across three venues: AmericanAirlines Arena, Marlins Park and the beautifully renovated Miami Beach Convention Center.
Wilson already mentioned the sun and the sand, so we don’t have to.
More seriously, Miami is a blue county in a purple swing state that went red in the 2016 presidential election. Democrats have a lot of work to do if they hope to win Florida. Miami-Dade is where they should stake their claim.
“We check many boxes,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who is working for a Miami-Dade win, told the Editorial Board. “If the Democrats want to make the case that we are the party of tomorrow, the party that looks to the next generation, Miami is the place. Our mosaic is America’s mosaic and we are figuring it out splendidly.”
Well said.
Plus, our local issues are national issues. Florida is in the forefront of the battle against sea-level rise, and issues such as immigration, healthcare and economic inequality. When Democrats speak to Floridians, they will be speaking to Americans across the country.
If Miami-Dade wins, thousands of delegates will convene here from July 13-16, 2020, bringing a boost to the local economy. Miami-Dade County, Miami and Miami Beach have teamed up in the campaign to get the DNC to snag the convention for South Florida. Gelber and his predecessor at Beach City Hall, Philip Levine, have taken the lead.
As the third-largest state by population, Florida is a must-win state for either party’s presidential candidate.
Since 2000, Florida has gone twice for a Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and three times for Republicans: George W. Bush in 2000 — barely — and 2004, and Donald Trump in 2016. That year, however, Miami-Dade went for Hillary Clinton with 63 percent of the vote, the largest share received by a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 win.
Florida is one of the most important swing states in the country — and the most narrowly divided. The Democrats would be wise to swing on down here to make their case.
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 9:48 PM.