There is a real chance that Ohio may host both the Republican and Democratic national conventions in 2016.

The Democratic National Committee on Nov. 24 announced Columbus is one of three finalists under consideration to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

The other two finalists are New York and Philadelphia while the cities of Phoenix and Birmingham dropped off the list. The DNC also announced the potential weeks for convention are the weeks of July 18, July 25, and August 22. The DNC plans to announce a final city and date early next year.
The announcement comes after a round of site visits by the DNC’s Technical Advisory Group to five cities.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was pleased by the DNC’s choice to include Columbus as one of three finalists.

“Columbus is a world-class, walkable city with great facilities and accommodations – all making it the ideal host for the 2016 Democratic Convention,” Brown said in a statement. “The convention will give the city a platform to display our state’s diverse and innovative capital city. I look forward to working with the city’s leaders to make history and bring the convention to Ohio.”

Earlier this year, Cleveland was selected to be the host city for the Republican National Convention in 2016.

So it could mean Ohio is even more important in the process to select the next president of the United States.

John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah