What to know about the 2024 Democratic National Convention

George Fabe Russell, USA TODAY NETWORK
·2 min read

The CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta on Thursday was the first in modern U.S. history to be held before each party’s conventions selected their official nominees.

It’s easy to forget that while President Joe Biden and his rival, former President Donald Trump, are their party’s unequivocal frontrunners, they aren’t locked in as the official picks until later this year when delegates meet at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to elect their nominees.

Some in Biden’s own party are calling for considering other options after what many saw as a disappointing performance against Trump. With just over seven weeks until the DNC in Chicago, the delegates would need to stray from protocol to nominate and elect a new candidate for the White House.

When is the Democratic National Convention?

The Democratic National Convention, which will take place in Chicago from August 19 to 22, kicks off in less than 60 days.

Where will the convention be?

The convention will be held at the United Center, a 20,000-seat arena, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks.

This is the first time since the 2016 presidential election cycle that the Democratic National Convention has been held in person after it was done virtually in Milwaukee in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Delegates from all 50 U.S. states and seven territories that awarded delegates in the Democratic primaries will gather to vote on the party’s nominee.

“Chicago has a long track record of hosting safe and successful large-scale events, including the 2012 NATO Summit and 1996 Democratic National Convention. This year’s DNC will be no different,” said Alex Hornbrook, executive director of the Democratic National Convention Committee, in an op-ed on May. 14.

The Windy City famously held the Democratic National Convention in 1968, which saw large and controversial protests against the war in Vietnam. Robert F. Kennedy Sr. was the frontrunner to be the Democratic presidential nominee before he was assassinated just a few months before the convention.

What will happen at the Democratic National Convention?

Short of a major upset, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are still fairly certain to be the nominees, but a vote among the delegates would make that official.

There are more than 4,600 delegates, and a candidate must get 1,968 to become the Democratic nominee. Joe Biden currently has 3,397 delegates allocated to him.

Those delegates are pledged to vote for Biden as nominee unless he drops out of the race.

Did any other candidates win primary delegates?

Twenty-seven are uncommitted. Many of these uncommitted delegates were allocated as part of a voting campaign in protest of U.S. support of Israeli military actions in Gaza, notably among Arab American voters in Michigan.

Three delegates were allocated to Jason Palmer, who tied with Biden in American Samoa, and three to Dean Phillips, who dropped out of the primary race after Super Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: The 2024 DNC in Chicago: What to know about the convention

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