The 2012 Democratic National Convention was a gathering, held from September 4–6, 2012,Smith, Ben (April 5, 2010) "DNC 2012: Mark your calendars", Politico. Retrieved April 13, 2010.(April 5, 2010) "Democrats get ready for 2012 national convention" USA Today. Retrieved April 5, 2010. at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which delegates of the Democratic Party nominated President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for re-election, in the 2012 United States national election.
On April 3, 2012, President Barack Obama won the Maryland and District of Columbia primaries, giving him more than the required 2,778 delegates to secure the presidential nomination. He had previously announced that Vice President Joe Biden would remain as his vice presidential running mate in his re-election bid.
Background The convention was the 47th Democratic National Convention.
Site selection + Finalist bid cities City Venue Previous major party conventions hosted by city Charlotte, North Carolina (winner) Time Warner Cable Arena Cleveland, Ohio Quicken Loans Arena Republican: 1924, 1936 Minneapolis, Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Republican: 1892, 2008 St. Louis, Missouri Scottrade Center Democratic: 1876, 1888, 1904, 1916Republican: 1896
First Lady Michelle Obama announced on February 1, 2011, in an email to supporters that Charlotte, North Carolina, had been chosen as the site for the 2012 Convention.WSOC-TV: Charlotte wins DNC 2012 Murray, Mark & Montanaro, Domenico (February 1, 2011) DNC choose Charlotte for 2012 convention Retrieved April 23, 2011.Cillizza, Chris (02/1/2011) Charlotte will be site of 2012 Democratic National Convention Retrieved April 23, 2011. The event was the first nominating convention of a major party ever held in North Carolina. Charlotte had beaten three other finalists, Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Louis.Zeleny, Jeff (July 1, 2010) "Four Cities Vie for 2012 Democratic Convention", The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2010.Hamby, Peter (July 1, 2010) "DNC names four cities as finalists to host 2012 convention", CNN.com. Retrieved July 1, 2010. It was expected that Charlotte's hosting of this event would generate more than $150 million for Charlotte and surrounding metropolitan areas and bring over 35,000 delegates and visitors.Mark Preston (February 1, 2011) Charlotte will host the 2012 Democratic National Convention Retrieved April 23, 2011.Jim Morrill (February 2, 2011) Democratic National Convention puts Charlotte, South in spotlight Retrieved April 23, 2011 North Carolina was a closely contested state in the 2008 presidential election, with Barack Obama winning the state's 15 electoral votes by just 13,692 votes (out of more than 4.2 million votes cast) and Democrats Kay Hagan and Bev Perdue winning close elections for U.S. Senate and Governor, respectively.The New York Times (12/9/2008) North Carolina – Election Results 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
On October 28, 2009, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent out letters to potential host cities seeking their interest in bidding for the convention. The deadline for cities to submit letters of interest was January 11, 2010. In March 2010, the DNC emailed interested cities request for proposals. The deadline for cities to respond was May 21, 2010.
On June 30, 2010, the DNC announced the four finalist cities.
Convention activities All three dates of the convention were held at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The last night, Thursday, September 6, was originally scheduled to be held at the 72,000-seat Bank of America Stadium, where presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama was to deliver his acceptance speech. After Convention officials insisted that they would hold Thursday's activities at the stadium "rain or shine", the venue was moved to the 20,000 seat indoor arena "due to thunderstorm threat". Some in the media questioned the move, wondering whether it was motivated more by an inability to fill the 70,000-seat stadium and the possibility that empty seats would show a lack of enthusiasm.Is Bad Weather Really the Reason to Move Obama's Speech Indoors? The risk of severe weather wasn't high; Charlotte NBC affiliate WCNC-TV chief meteorologist Brad Panovich tweeted that the "[s]evere threat is almost zero Thursday night & chance of rain is 20%", adding, "It's a simple question...if you had a Panthers game, concert or soccer match with a 20% chance of storms would you cancel 24 hrs prior?"Obama's Democratic National Convention speech moved indoors due to thunderstorm threat The date of Obama's acceptance speech caused the National Football League to move the Kickoff game, normally on a Thursday, to Wednesday, September 5, to avoid a conflict. This in turn caused the DNC to move Joe Biden's vice presidential acceptance speech, normally held the day before the presidential acceptance speech, to Thursday, before Obama's speech, to avoid a conflict with the NFL game.
The convention was the first Democratic convention scheduled for only three days since 1948, joining only the 1972 Republican National Convention as the only conventions in modern convention history to be scheduled for three days. The start date of September 4 is also the latest a major convention has ever started.
Tuesday, September 4 – Julián Castro and Michelle Obama
In the opening session on September 4, the keynote speech was delivered by then-37-year-old San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. In his speech, Castro stated that "the Romney-Ryan budget ... doesn't just pummel the middle class, it dismantles it...it dismantles what generations before have built to ensure that everybody can enter and stay in the middle class" and that "Now we need to make a choice...a choice between a country where the middle class pays more so that millionaires can pay less, or a country where everybody pays their fair share, so we can reduce the deficit and create the jobs of the future. It's a choice between a nation that slashes funding for our schools and guts Pell Grants, or a nation that invests more in education. It's a choice between a politician who rewards companies that ship American jobs overseas, or a leader who brings jobs back home...this is the choice before us ... Our choice is a man who has always chosen us. A man who already is our president, Barack Obama", with the Global Post describing the audience as "adoring and appreciative" and the speech as "powerful words, and the audience responded with gratitude".
First Lady Michelle Obama gave the final speech of the evening, stating that "Barack knows what it means when a family struggles...he knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids. Barack knows the American dream because he's lived it, and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we're from, or what we look like, or who we love." Her speech lasted 25 minutes and focused on the Barack Obama she fell in love with as well as the strength of the American Spirit and those in the military. "I've seen it in our men and women in uniform and our proud military families...in a young man blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan who said simply, 'I'd give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what I have done, and what I can still do." Jim Rutenberg, of The New York Times, described the crowd as "electrified" by her remarks, "her impassioned delivery drawing the crowd to its feet".
The speakers for the day included: Barbara Lee, Representative for California's 9th congressional district Claudia J. Kennedy, Lieutenant General (ret.) Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey Bev Perdue, Governor of North Carolina Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union Charlie Gonzalez, Representative for Texas's 20th congressional district Nydia Velázquez, Representative for New York's 12th congressional district Pat Quinn, Governor of Illinois Doug Stern, firefighter from Cincinnati, Ohio Tim Kaine, former governor of Virginia and U.S. Senate candidate Anthony Foxx, Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston, Texas Harry Reid, Senior Senator from Nevada and Senate Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader and Representative for California's 8th congressional district with the Women of the House of Representatives including: Rosa DeLauro, Representative for Connecticut's 3rd congressional district Carolyn Maloney, Representative for New York's 14th congressional district Allyson Schwartz, Representative for Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district Gwen Moore, Representative for Wisconsin's 4th congressional district Nydia Velázquez, Representative for New York's 12th congressional district Tulsi Gabbard, former Honolulu, Hawaii, City Councillor and U.S. House Candidate for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district Joyce Beatty, former Minority Leader of Ohio State House of Representatives and U.S. House Candidate for Ohio's 3rd congressional district Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States (via video) Ken Salazar, U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Joseph P. Kennedy III, U.S. House candidate for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district Robert Wexler, president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace and former representative for Florida's 19th congressional district R. T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota Ryan Case, student, University of Colorado at Boulder Jared Polis, Representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district Maria Ciano, stay-at-home mother and former Republican voter Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Nate Davis, Xavier University - Director of Veteran's Affairs Tammy Duckworth, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. House Candidate for Illinois's 8th congressional district Lincoln Chafee, Independent Governor of Rhode Island Stacey Lihn, mother Ted Strickland, former governor of Ohio Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and former governor of Kansas Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, Illinois, and former White House Chief of Staff Kal Penn, actor and associate director, White House Office of Public Engagement Craig Robinson, brother of Michelle Obama and basketball coach for Oregon State University Maya Soetoro-Ng, half-sister of Barack Obama Lilly Ledbetter, women's rights activist Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland Joaquín Castro, Texas State Representative and U.S. House Candidate for Texas's 20th congressional district Julian Castro, Mayor of San Antonio, Texas Elaine Brye, teacher from Winona, Ohio Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States –speech by spouse of the presidential nominee
Wednesday, September 5 – Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton
The speakers for the day included: Luis Gutiérrez, Representative for Illinois's 4th congressional district Diana DeGette, Representative for Colorado's 1st congressional district John Pérez, Speaker of the California State Assembly Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts Judy Chu, Representative for California's 32nd congressional district Steve Westly, former State Controller and Chief Financial Officer of California John Larson, Representative for Connecticut's 1st congressional district Ken Myers, Deputy Sheriff for Carroll County, Iowa Richard Trumka, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations Steve Israel, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman and Representative for New York's 2nd congressional district Patty Murray, U.S. Senator (Senior) from Washington Pedro Pierluisi, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Tom Steyer, founder and co-Senior Managing Partner of Farallon Capital Management, LLC Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senator (Senior) from New York Karen Bass, Representative for California's 33rd congressional district Al Green, Representative for Texas's 9th congressional district