Why Denver?

Denver's Nighttime Skyline.

Photo Credit: Fort Photo via Flickr and Creative Commons

Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.

Photo Credit: GeordieMac via Flickr and Creative Commons

In just a few weeks the Democratic Party will spend millions of dollars in Denver Colorado for the event that will at once officially kick off the Obama Campaign and - the Democrats hope - provide an all-important boost to their party in the last days of summer before the Presidential race begins in earnest. In an era of politics where every gesture is choreographed, every word scripted, and every event planned to the last detail one question has got to be on the mind of the American Public: why hold the convention in Denver and what's so great about Colorado?

The Swing State of the South West

Colorado is presenting itself as a battleground state this year. There has yet to be a non-partisan poll that shows a difference of more than ten points between McCain and Obama in Colorado and while Obama has largely maintained the lead in the Centennial state, a Democratic victory there is far from certain.¹ It will be the urban centers that will determine if Colorado goes Blue or Red and the Convention hedges Democratic bets there. Of particular concern is Colorado Springs, which has earned itself the nickname of "the Evangelical Vatican."² Colorado Springs has become the national headquarters of dozens of religious groups and will be a powerful counterbalance to Denver's more liberal leanings (Kerry carried the Mile High City in 2004 with nearly 70% of the vote³). But truth be told, the Democrats didn't pick Denver because of its political importance.

A Rocky (Mountain) Economy

Like much of America, Colorado's economy is on the rocks. Unemployment has been steadily rising and the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the June 2008 numbers will show a 5.1% unemployment rate there.⁴ With the economy poised to play a major role in the 2008 election, Colorado is an almost ideal place to talk about the twin economic problems facing the nation. Colorado's Eastern plains are thick with corn, making it a center for both the US Corn Lobby and ethanol: the would-be solution to the energy crisis and the rising cost of fuel. Colorado is home to significant natural gas and coal deposits and has more oil trapped in shale deposits than the rest of the world's proven reserves combined.⁵ While energy and food production dominate the economic realities of rural Colorado, Denver's 17^th Street financial district - the Wall Street of the West - and the Denver housing market are a microcosm of the mortgage and real-estate crisis on many American minds.⁶ And, despite all of this, the Democrats didn't pick Denver for economic reasons either.

Foreign Policy From A Mile High

Among Colorado's largest industries is defense. The military industrial complex has deep roots - both literal and metaphorical - in the mountains of Colorado. Cheyenne Mountain, the one-time home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and the United States' Air Force Academy, both just outside of Colorado Springs, provide perfect backdrops for the Democrats to address key military issues including terrorism, military recruitment, technology, and even the aging American nuclear arsenal.⁷ Defense has been a historical liability for the Democrats since Johnson and the Vietnam war but increasing dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of the Iraq conflict has reopened the issue. With the war on terror and Iraq itself likely to dominate discussions of American foreign policy American security, the Democrats will benefit from a well crafted message on the topic of national defense and Colorado is an ideal place to start. But the Democrats didn't pick Denver for military reasons.

Picked Last

In fact, the Democrats didn't pick Denver at all. In November of 2005 the Democratic National Committee invited the local Democratic Parties of 35 cities to draft proposals to host the 2008 convention: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, St Louis, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC.

Of the eleven cities that accepted the invitation to bid, only three submitted actual proposals to the DNC: New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Denver. In September of 2006, the Republican Party selected St. Paul as the location for its 2008 convention, narrowing the Democratic choices to two. A month later, New York's Mayor Bloomburg suggested that funding a Big Apple Convention could prove problematic, effectively eliminating New York from the running.⁸ In January of 2007 the Democrats officially named Denver as the location for the 2008 convention.⁹

Chosen or not, opportunities abound in the Rocky Mountain State. Colorado provides the Democrats with ample political leverage to influence the south-west, flipping key Republican states and forcing the GOP to spend scarce funds in traditionally safe states. Far from the narrow confines of New York and the concrete canyons of Manhattan, the Democrats have the space to engage in the political spectacle that has come to characterize the Obama campaign and on August 28^th some 125,000 individuals will crowd Mile High Stadium to watch the Jr. Illinois Senator accept his party's nomination for the Presidency of the United States.¹⁰ In the end, it seems, it was not the Democrats who picked Denver, but Denver that picked the Democrats.

1. Electoral Vote
2. Wikipedia: Colorado Springs, Colorado
3. US Election Atlas
4. Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. Wikipedia: Colorado, Economy
6. Wikipedia: Economy of Colorado
7. Wikipedia: North American Aerospace Defense Command
8. New York Times
9. Wikipedia: 2008 Democratic National Convention
10. Wikipedia: INVESCO Field At Mile High

Back To Top