ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Atlanta will not be the host city for the 2028 Democratic National Convention (DNC).

On Thursday, Democrats narrowed the list of potential host cities for their presidential convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as their party looks ahead to a wide-open primary to succeed President Donald Trump.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement that the cities put forward “incredibly strong bids,” and he promised the convention would be an “inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee.”

In the wake of the decision, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said his party is “abandoning Atlanta, abandoning the South, and once again abandoning Black voters.”

“For the DNC to not even include Atlanta in the shortlist means that the DNC does not consider Atlanta or Georgia relevant to the past, present, or future of the Democratic Party,” Dickens wrote in a letter to local and national Democrats obtained by Atlanta News First. “It seems that Ken Martin doesn’t even believe himself when he said that the road to the White House runs through the South.”

Read the full letter:

August 20, 2026

To Atlanta, the South, and all Democrats:

The DNC continues to make the wrong choices. This decision could not have been based on Atlanta’s ability to host major events. Not on the heels of being ranked the best city to host the World Cup. Not when State Farm Arena is one the busiest and most successful arenas in the country.

For the DNC to not even include Atlanta in the shortlist means that the DNC does not consider Atlanta or Georgia relevant to the past, present, or future of the Democratic Party. It seems that Ken Martin doesn’t even believe himself when he said that the road to the White House runs through the South.

Yet again, the DNC and Chairman Ken Martin have shown that they are unwilling to do the bare minimum to support the base of the party. Atlanta is the crown jewel of the Southeast, the Black economic engine of the country, and the cradle of the civil rights movement.

They are afraid to leave their comfort zone and blind to the fact that the South is the answer. They are abandoning Atlanta, abandoning the South, and once again abandoning Black voters.

Atlanta has not hosted a convention in nearly 40 years. One party has chosen the South to host their convention, and the other has chosen the same region over and over again. This isn’t by accident. It’s an intentional choice.

At a time when Trump and the Supreme Court are minimizing Black electoral power we need a party that would come to Atlanta and galvanize the Southeast for 2028 and beyond. Real leaders produce for the present and the future.

With so much evidence to the contrary, this was an opportunity for Ken Martin and the DNC leadership to show they have a thoughtful plan for the party and know how to win the White House in 2028. But instead they are running scared and retreat to their safe spaces.

I’m ready for Democratic leadership that understands what every Democratic voter already knows: that this is a moment that demands we run toward battles and into the fight.

Sincerely,

Mayor Andre Dickens

City of Atlanta

The party didn’t specify why Atlanta and Chicago, the latter of which was the site of the 2024 convention, were eliminated. Officials visited Atlanta and the remaining four cities in April and May, considering logistical and fundraising capacity among other factors.

“Georgia is the premier battleground state in the country,” said Georgia Democratic Party chair Charlie Bailey. “The road to the White House in 2028 will come straight through Georgia whether or not the DNC does.”

Earlier this month, the Atlanta City Council pledged up to $36 million in funding for the 2028 DNC.

Under the resolution, approved by the council on Aug. 3, the funding would have come from excess amounts of Atlanta’s hotel/motel tax. It also secured MARTA as the convention’s bus provider and allowed the mayor and chief financial officer to authorize any other necessary agreements.

The last — and only — time Atlanta has hosted a political convention was 1988, when Democrats nominated former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis to face Vice President George H.W. Bush. Dukakis had just won a hotly contested nomination battle over Jesse Jackson, while Bush was seeking to take advantage of then-President Ronald Reagan’s vast national popularity.

DID YOU KNOW? Jesse Jackson delivered the keynote speech in Atlanta’s only Democratic National Convention

The 1988 convention was held at the Omni, now the site of State Farm Arena. Gov. Joe Frank Harris led Georgia’s delegation, which included former President Jimmy Carter and then-U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn.

In 2026, all of Georgia’s statewide constitutional offices remain in the hands of Republicans, as does the state’s congressional delegation. Republicans also hold a majority in both the state House and Senate.

But Democrats have been pointing to victories in the state’s special elections, such as the Public Service Commission, as proof that the state is turning against President Donald Trump and GOP priorities.

“We talk about winning back faith and winning back trust from voters, those voters are here, those voters are here in Atlanta,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman Charlie Bailey back in April. “You could send no stronger signal about the future of the Democratic Party than to take the bold action, the bold action, to come here and plant the flag, let’s win in the South.”

A final decision on the DNC’s host city is expected later this year by party leaders. Republicans have already chosen Houston for the site of their 2028 convention.

The Democratic convention is scheduled for Aug. 7-10, 2028.

The three remaining DNC finalists are liberal strongholds surrounded by the type of suburban areas that have become increasingly important to the party in recent elections. They also provide access to fundraising and key demographic and interest groups, like labor unions.

While Colorado and Massachusetts have gone Democratic in recent presidential elections, Pennsylvania has been among the biggest battlegrounds. Trump, a Republican, won Pennsylvania in 2024.

Philadelphia last hosted the convention in 2016, Denver in 2008 and Boston in 2004.

Before the presidential primary gets into gear, Democrats are looking at this year’s midterm elections as an opportunity to flip the narrowly divided Republican-led House and maybe take back control of the Senate.

Democrats face fundraising disadvantages compared with Republicans, along with financial debt, and Martin has confronted criticism over his stewardship of the party.

During a recent DNC meeting in Texas, Martin downplayed the critics and called for the party to unite as it tries to win the midterms and look ahead to 2028 and the end of Trump’s second term.

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