The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention. The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention is to officially nominate a candidate for president and vice president, adopt a comprehensive party platform, and unify the party. Pledged delegates from all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the American territories, and superdelegates 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 Democratic National Convention marks the formal end of the primary election period and the start of the general election season. Since the 1980s, national conventions have become mostly inaugural events for the winning candidate, since winners are announced long 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.
In American politics, a superdelegate is a delegate to a presidential nominating convention who is seated automatically.
A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpose of such a convention is to select the party's nominees for popular election as President and Vice President, as well as to adopt a statement of party principles and goals known as the party platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process for the next election cycle. Conventions remain an important part of the political process despite the nominees almost always being determined during the primary season, as they provide positive publicity for the nominee and party, which can then lead to a convention bounce.
The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 15, 1948, and resulted in the nominations of President Harry S. Truman for a full term and Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky for vice president in the 1948 presidential election.
The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Republican National Convention that year, on July 10–13, 1972. Lawrence F. O'Brien served as permanent chairman of the convention, while Yvonne Braithwaite Burke served as vice-chair, becoming the first African American and the first woman of color to hold that position. On the last day of the convention, Lawrence F. O'Brien departed and Burke was left to preside for about fourteen hours.
The 1976 Democratic National Convention met at Madison Square Garden in New York City, from July 12 to July 15, 1976. The assembled United States Democratic Party delegates at the convention nominated former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia for president and Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota for vice president. John Glenn and Barbara Jordan gave the keynote addresses. Jordan's keynote address made her the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention. The convention was the first in New York City since the 103-ballot 1924 convention.
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for President in the 2016 United States presidential election. The elections took place within all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad and occurred between February 1 and June 14, 2016. Between 2008 and 2020, this was the only Democratic Party primary in which the nominee had never been nor had ever become President of the United States. This was the first time the Democratic primary had nominated a woman for president.
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. The elections took place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and through Democrats Abroad, and occurred between February 3 and August 11.
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of the United States Democratic Party formally chose former vice president Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris of California as the party's nominees for president and vice president, respectively, in the 2020 United States presidential election.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention in which delegates of the United States Democratic Party voted on their party platform and ceremonially reported their vote to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris for president and her chosen running mate Governor Tim Walz for vice president in the 2024 presidential election. It was held from August 19 to 22, 2024, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates virtually nominated Harris and Walz the first week of August. Harris is the first Black woman and first Indian woman to be the presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States, and the first Democratic presidential nominee from the Western United States.
This is a timeline of major events leading up to, during, and after the 2024 United States presidential election, which was the first presidential election to be run with population data from the 2020 census. In addition to the dates mandated by the relevant federal laws such as those in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, several milestones have consistently been observed since the adoption of the conclusions of the 1971 McGovern–Fraser Commission.
From January 23 to June 8, 2024, presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. The elections took place in all U.S. states except Florida and Delaware, in the District of Columbia, in five U.S. territories, and as organized by Democrats Abroad.
The 2024 United States presidential election in Illinois took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Illinois voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Illinois has 19 electoral votes in the Electoral College this election, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state lost a seat.
Christale Spain is an American politician currently serving as Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, the first black woman to hold the role.
As part of the Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States, protest vote movements in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries were initiated to target President Joe Biden's and Vice President Kamala Harris's reelection campaigns. After a notable "uncommitted" vote in Michigan, activists sought to replicate the protest in other states. While some activists under Abandon Biden/Abandon Harris argued against supporting the Democratic ticket entirely during the 2024 presidential election, others in uncommitted movements led by the Uncommitted National Movement urged to use uncommitted votes during the presidential primary to pressure the Biden administration to change policies before the presidential election. Both groups overlap and supported each other's goals, to the point of being considered "twin" movements. On July 21, 2024, Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election and endorsed Harris as his replacement.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 2024, considered several prominent individuals before selecting Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota as her candidate for Vice President of the United States on August 6. Harris and Walz were certified as the official nominees that evening by Democratic National Committee secretary Jason Rae. Walz was the first sitting governor selected as the Democratic vice presidential nominee since Charles W. Bryan of Nebraska in 1924 and if elected, would have been the third vice president from Minnesota after Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Walz is also the first sitting governor to appear on the Democratic ticket since Bill Clinton in 1992. After formally accepting their nomination during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the Harris–Walz ticket went on to lose to the Trump–Vance ticket in the general election.
The Uncommitted National Movement was a protest campaign aimed mainly to pressure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to achieve a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war and impose an arms embargo on Israel. The group received some support in the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries.
On the second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, a roll call of the states was ceremonially held. Due to the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the roll call and convention were held virtually rather than in a single venue. Also due to the pandemic, formal voting on the party's nomination was done virtually and in advance of the convention, making the roll call at the convention purely ceremonial.
