The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of
presidential nominating conventions held every four years since
1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plan ...
by the
United States Democratic Party
The Democratic Party is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in eve ...
. They have been administered by the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
since the
1852 national convention. The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention is to officially nominate a candidate for
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
vice president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
, adopt a comprehensive
party platform
A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order ...
and unify the party. Pledged
delegates from all fifty
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
s, the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and the
American territories, and
superdelegates
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15% ...
which are unpledged delegates representing the Democratic establishment, attend the convention and cast their votes to choose the party's presidential candidate. Like the
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
, the Democratic National Convention marks the formal end of the
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
period and the start of the
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
season. Since the 1980s the national conventions have lost most of their importance and become mostly just ceremonial coronation events for the respective candidate, as since the full establishment of primary contests in that time the winning nominees of both parties have always been clear long time before the convention. In 2020, both major parties, and many minor parties, replaced their usual in-person conventions with virtual programs due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Delegations
The party's presidential nominee is chosen primarily by pledged delegates, which are in turn selected through a series of individual
state caucuses and primary elections. Pledged delegates are classified into three categories:
* At-large pledged delegates are allocated and elected at the statewide level.
* District pledged delegates are allocated and elected at a district level, usually the congressional district, but sometimes by state or territory legislative district.
* Add-on or PLEO pledged delegates, which allow for representation by party leaders and elected officials within the state.
Unpledged
superdelegates
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15% ...
, delegates whose votes are not bound to the outcome of a state's caucus or primary, only vote in the event of a
contested nomination.
These superdelegates may also be called unpledged PLEO (party leaders and elected officials) delegates.
The size of delegations to the Democratic National Convention, for each state, territory, or other political subdivision, are described in the party's quadrennial ''Call for the Democratic National Convention''.
Pledged delegate allocation
Allocation formula for the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
Since 2012, the number of pledged delegates allocated to each of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. is based on two main factors: (1) the proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the last three presidential elections, and (2) the number of electoral votes each state has in the
Electoral College.
The calculations for the
2020 convention basically consist of the following three steps:
Step 1: The following formula is first used to determine each jurisdiction's ''allocation factor'':
where
: SDV = The state's Democratic vote in the indicated presidential election
: TDV = The nationwide total Democratic vote in the indicated presidential election
: SEV = The state's electoral votes
Step 2: The ''base delegation'' for each state and the District of Columbia is then determined by multiplying its ''allocation factor'' by 3,200 (rounded to the nearest integer):
Step 3: Finally, the jurisdiction's ''base delegation'' is used to calculate the number of its District, At-Large, and pledged PLEO (''party leaders and elected officials'' who are not
superdelegates
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15% ...
) delegates (fractions 0.5 and above are rounded to the next highest integer):
Allocations to other jurisdictions
Jurisdictions without electoral votes are instead given a fixed amount of pledged delegates. In 2020,
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
,
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
,
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
each get six at-large delegates.
Democrats Abroad
Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee.
Democrats Abroad ...
gets 12 at-large and one pledged PLEO.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
is assigned 44 base votes in 2020, then the same formulas used in Step 3 above for U.S. states are used to calculate the territory's at-large, district, and PLEO pledged delegates:
Bonus delegates
The Democratic Party awards bonus pledged delegates to each jurisdiction based on two factors: timing and clustering. The timing criterion is based on when the state holds its primaries/caucuses, with those states scheduling their contests in May and June getting the higher bonus. For clustering, three or more neighboring states must concurrently begin on the same date.
The bonus awarded is then a percentage increase in the jurisdiction's delegation (rounded to the nearest integer). A fourth of the bonus delegates are then designated as District, and the other three-fourths become At-Large.
The bonuses are:
* Timing Stage 1 (before April): ''No bonus''
* Timing Stage 2 (April): 10 percent increase
* Cluster: 15 percent increase
* Both Timing Stage 2 and Cluster: 25 percent increase
* Timing Stage 3 (May and June): 30 percent increase
* Both Timing Stage 3 and Cluster: 35 percent increase
Awarding delegates to the candidates
Based on the results of each of the primaries and caucuses, pledged delegates are awarded to the candidates under
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, where candidates who get 15 percent or more of the popular vote in a state or one of its districts divide the respective delegates in proportion to the votes on the respective level (those who get under 15 percent of the votes in a state and all of its districts do not get any delegates). Statewide and district delegates are strictly separated, they are both proportionally allocated based on the popular vote in the state or the respective districts. The statewide delegates are furthermore separated into two groups, at-large delegates and pledged PLEO delegates, which are both allocated proportionally based on the statewide vote but calculated separately. This amounts to in fact three different delegate groups, allocated proportionally but separately, leading to contortion and slightly unporportional results.
Superdelegates
A ''superdelegate'' is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These superdelegates include elected officials, and party activists and officials. They make up slightly under 15 percent of all convention delegates.
[Drew DeSilver]
Who are the Democratic superdelegates?
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
(May 5, 2016).
Superdelegates fall into four categories:
* Elected members of the Democratic National Committee
* Democratic Governors, including territorial governors and the
Mayor of the District of Columbia
The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, in the United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed ...
* Democratic Members of Congress,
District of Columbia shadow senators and
non-voting House members.
* Distinguished party leaders (consisting of current and former Presidents, Vice Presidents, congressional leaders, and DNC chairs)
Democratic superdelegates are free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination. On August 25, 2018, the Democratic National Committee agreed to reduce the influence of superdelegates by generally preventing them from voting on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention, allowing their votes only in a
contested nomination.
Presidential candidate nomination
From 1832 to 1936, any nomination for president or vice-president was required to have a majority of two-thirds of the total number of delegates. Unless there was a popular incumbent, something that only happened three times between the Civil War and World War II, getting that many votes on the first ballot was virtually impossible.
This resulted in often contentious debate that riled the passions of party leaders, with delegates being forced to vote for a nominee until someone could receive the minimum number of delegates required. This situation occurred at the conventions of
1852
Events
January–March
* January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic.
* January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...
,
1856
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California.
* January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...
,
1868
Events
January–March
* January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries.
* January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...
,
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6 ...
,
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
and most notoriously,
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
, where the voting went for at least a dozen ballots.
In
1860
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
* January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...
, the convention deadlocked after 57 ballots, during which 50 Southern delegates walked out; subsequently, second and third conventions nominated separate Northern and Southern tickets.
Backroom deals by party bosses were normal and often resulted in compromise nominees that became known as
dark horse
A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.
Origin
Th ...
candidates, people who never imagined they would run for president until the last moments of the convention. Dark horse candidates were chosen in order to break deadlocks between more popular and powerful prospective nominees that blocked each other from gaining enough delegates to be nominated.
One of the most famous dark horse candidates nominated at a Democratic National Convention was
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
, who was chosen to become the candidate for president only after being added to the eighth and ninth delegate ballot.
The rules were changed to a simple majority in 1936. Since then, only one multi-ballot convention (in the
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
) has taken place.
Vice-presidential candidate nomination
Before 1972, the party's choice of the vice-presidential nominee was usually not known until the last evening of the convention. This was because the presidential nominee had little to do with the process, and in many cases was not known at the start of the convention.
In 1944 and 1956, the nominee let the convention choose the running mate without any recommendation, which led to two ballots of voting being required in each case.
From 1972 to 1980, the party's choice of the vice-presidential nominee became known on the first evening of the convention, but this led to scattering of votes in order to sabotage the nominee's chances, which turned the voting in 1972 and 1980 into a farce:
* In 1972, a record 79 candidates (a number of whom were highly unlikely or joke candidates) received at least one vote, and the only ballot was not completed until 1:40 a.m.
* In 1980, over 20% of the delegates walked out of the convention before the vice-presidential voting after
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
lost the presidential nomination to incumbent
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, while 36 candidates received at least one vote, and the only ballot required several roll calls to complete.
To prevent any repeat of the events of 1972 and 1980, the presumptive nominee has, since 1984, announced their choice before the convention even opened, and they have been ratified by acclamation.
History
![1876 Democratic National Convention - Missouri (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/1876_Democratic_National_Convention_-_Missouri_%28cropped%29.jpg)
By 1824, the
congressional nominating caucus The congressional nominating caucus is the name for informal meetings in which American congressmen would agree on whom to nominate for the Presidency and Vice Presidency from their political party.
History
The system was introduced after George W ...
had fallen into disrepute and collapsed as a method of nominating presidential and vice presidential candidates. A national convention idea had been brought up, but nothing occurred until the next decade: state conventions and
state legislatures
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...
emerged as the nomination apparatus until they were supplanted by the national convention method of nominating candidates. President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
's "
Kitchen Cabinet
Kitchen cabinets are the built-in furniture installed in many kitchens for storage of food, cooking equipment, and often Silver (household), silverware and Dishware, dishes for table service. Home appliance, Appliances such as refrigerators, dish ...
" privately carried out the plan for the first Democratic National Convention: the public call for the first national convention emanated from Jackson's supporters in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
in 1831.
The first national convention of the Democratic Party began in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
on May 21,
1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plan ...
, only to nominate a vice presidential candidate as it was clear that Jackson as the party's natural leader would run for the presidency again. In that year the rule requiring a two-thirds vote to nominate a candidate was created, and
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
was nominated for vice president on the first ballot. Although this rule was waived in the 1836 and 1840 conventions – when Van Buren was nominated as presidential candidate by acclamation – in 1844, it was revived by opponents of former President Van Buren, who had the support of a majority (but not two-thirds) of the delegates, in order to prevent him from receiving the nomination after his 1840 defeat. The rule then remained in place until 1936, when the renomination of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
by acclamation allowed it finally to be put to rest.
On seven occasions, this rule led to Conventions which dragged on for over a dozen ballots. The most infamous examples of this were in
1860 at Charleston, when the convention deadlocked after 57 ballots: the delegates adjourned, and reconvened in separate Northern and Southern groups six weeks later, and in
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
, where "Wets" and "Drys" deadlocked between the frontrunners,
Alfred E. Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928.
The son of an Irish-American mother and a Civ ...
and
William G. McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name:
* Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior"
* William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "Ju ...
, for 102 ballots over 16 days before finally agreeing on
John W. Davis
John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...
as a compromise candidate on the 103rd ballot. Also, in
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6 ...
,
Champ Clark
James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House from 1911 to 1919.
Born in Kentucky, he establis ...
received a majority of the votes, but did not subsequently go on to achieve a two-thirds vote and the nomination (
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
won the nomination on the 46th ballot), the only time this happened.
Since 1932, only one convention (in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
) has required multiple ballots. While the rule was in force, it virtually assured that no candidate without support from the South could be nominated. The elimination of the two-thirds rule made it possible for liberal Northern Democrats to gain greater influence in party affairs, leading to the disenfranchisement of Southern Democrats, and defection of many of the latter to the Republican Party, especially during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s.
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
delivered his "
Cross of Gold
The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a former United States Representative from Nebraska, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896. In his address, Bryan supported " free silver" (i.e. bime ...
" speech at the
1896 convention, while the most historically notable and tumultuous convention in recent memory was the
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...
in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, which was fraught with highly emotional battles between conventioneers and
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
protesters and an outburst by Chicago mayor
Richard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...
. Other confrontations between various groups, such as the
Yippies
The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on De ...
and members of the
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
, and the Chicago police in city parks, streets and hotels marred this convention.
Following the 1968 convention, in which many reformers had been disappointed that Vice President
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
, despite not having competed in a single primary, easily won the nomination over Senators
Eugene McCarthy
Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...
and
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...
(who was announced after the assassination of another candidate, Senator
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
), a commission headed by Senator McGovern reformed the Democratic Party's nominating process to increase the power of primaries in choosing delegates in order to increase the democracy of the process. Not entirely coincidentally, McGovern himself won the nomination in 1972. The
1972 convention was significant in that the new rules put into place as a result of the
McGovern commission McGovern may refer to the following:
* McGovern (name), surname of Irish origin
* McGovern Institute for Brain Research
People:
* Jack Michael McGovern current clan Chief b.1989 inherited by right of birth.
* Alison McGovern (b. 1980), British Lab ...
also opened the door for quotas mandating that certain percentages of delegates be women or members of minority groups, and subjects that were previously deemed not fit for political debate, such as
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
and
lesbian and gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishment for homosexualit ...
, now occupied the forefront of political discussion.
The nature of Democratic (and
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
) conventions has changed considerably since the 1972 McGovern reforms (which have largely influenced the Republican primaries as well). Every four years, the nominees are essentially selected earlier and earlier in the year, so the conventions now officially ratify the nominees instead of choose them (even the close race of
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, which was not decided until early June, did not change the modern function of the convention, as superdelegates and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
's withdrawal ensured
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's win before the convention).
The
1980 convention was the last convention for the Democrats that was seriously contested (when
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
forced a failed vote to free delegates from their commitment to vote for
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
). The
1976 convention was the last where the vice-presidential nominee was announced during the convention, after the presidential nominee was chosen (Carter chose
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
).
After the disorganized conventions of 1968 and 1972, the parties realized it was in their interests to show a unified party to the nation during the convention, and to try to eliminate any dissent. As the conventions became less interesting, and
television ratings have generally declined (as they have on average for all television shows), the networks have cut back their coverage significantly, which in turn has forced the parties to manage what is televised even more closely. The
1996 convention that nominated
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
sparked protests, such as the one whereby
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
historian
Randy Kryn
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
and 10 others were arrested by the
Federal Protective Service.
[
]
Prior to the
2020 convention in Milwaukee (which due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
was moved from the larger
Fiserv Forum
Fiserv Forum (stylized as fiserv.forum) () is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball tea ...
to the smaller
Wisconsin Center
The Wisconsin Center (formerly Midwest Express Center, Midwest Airlines Center, Frontier Airlines Center and Delta Center) is a convention and exhibition center located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The center is part of a greater complex ...
), the
1984 convention at the
Moscone Center
The George R. Moscone Convention Center (pronounced ), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three block ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
was the last Democratic Convention to be held in a convention center complex; all the intervening years saw their conventions held in sports arenas.
See also
*
List of Democratic National Conventions
This is a list of Democratic National Conventions. These conventions are the presidential nominating conventions of the Democratic Party of the United States.
List of Democratic National Conventions
* Conventions whose nominees won the subseq ...
*
History of the United States Democratic Party
The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties of the United States political system and the oldest existing political party in that country founded in the 1830s and 1840s.
It is also the oldest voter-based political party in t ...
*
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
*
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Arterton, F. Christopher. ''Media politics: The news strategies of presidential campaigns'' (Free Press, 1984).
* Becker, Carl. "The Unit Rule in National Nominating Conventions." ''American Historical Review'' 5.1 (1899): 64–82
online* Binkley, Wilfred E. ''American political parties: their natural history'' (1962
online* Carleton, William G. "The revolution in the presidential nominating convention." ''Political Science Quarterly'' 72.2 (1957): 224–240
online* Chase, James S. ''Emergence of the Presidential Nominating Convention, 1789–1832'' (Houghton Mifflin: 1973).
* Chester, Edward W ''A guide to political platforms'' (1977) pp 127–13
online*
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a c ...
''Presidential Elections in the United States: A Primer.''(Washington, Congressional Research Service, 2000).
* Costain, Anne N. "An analysis of voting in american national nominating conventions, 1940-1976." ''American Politics Quarterly'' 6.1 (1978): 95–120.
* Davis, James W. ''National conventions in an age of party reform'' (Greenwood, 1983).
* Eaton, Herbert. ''Presidential timber: A history of nominating conventions, 1868-1960'' (1964
online
* Greenfield, Jeff. "The Convention Speeches that Changed America
''Politico'' Aug 15, 2020 online* Kazin, Michael. ''What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party'' (2022
excerpt* Key, Jr., V.O. ''Politics, Parties, and Pressure Groups'' (4th ed. 1958) pp 414–470
online* Miles, Edwin A. "The keynote speech at national nominating conventions." ''Quarterly journal of Speech'' 46.1 (1960): 26–31.
* Morison, Samuel E. "The First National Nominating Convention, 1808." ''American Historical Review'' 17.4 (1912): 744–763. on 1808 Federalist
online* Nichols, Roy F. "It Happens Every Four Years," ''American Heritage'' (June 1956) 7#4 pp 20–33.
* Pfau, Michael William. "Conventions of Deliberation? Convention Addresses and Deliberative Containment in the Second Party System' ''Rhetoric and Public Affairs'' 9#4 (2006), pp. 635-65
online* Sautter, R. Craig, and Edward M. Burke. ''Inside the Wigwam: Chicago Presidential Conventions, 1860-1996'' (Loyola Press, 1996).
* Silver, Adam. "Consensus and Conflict: A Content Analysis of American Party Platforms, 1840–1896." ''Social Science History'' 42.3 (2018): 441-46
online
External links
*
The American Presidency Project contains the text of the national platforms that were adopted by the conventions (1840–2004)
{{Authority control
Quadrennial events