DNC Press Contact:
Brandon Gassaway
National Press Secretary

The Democratic National Committee announced today that Milwaukee, WI, will host the Democratic National Convention on July 13-16, 2020. This is the first time the Democratic Party has held a national convention in the Midwest outside of Chicago since 1916.  

After a decade of Republican attacks on working people, labor unions, and communities of color, Democrats saw some of their biggest and most historic gains last year in Wisconsin with the election of Governor Tony Evers, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, and Attorney General Josh Kaul, and the reelection of Senator Tammy Baldwin. Today’s announcement signals that the party is doubling down on its winning strategy in this critical battleground state.

“If we’re going to take back the White House, restore the guard rails of our democracy, and make government work for American families, we need to earn it,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “We need to fight alongside our brothers and sisters in labor to build a brighter future together, and empower the diversity of our party and country. This choice is a statement of our values, and I'm thrilled Milwaukee will host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The Democratic Party is the party of working people, and Milwaukee is a city of working people. We saw in this last election what we can accomplish when we come together, invest, and fight for working people, and that was proven right here in Wisconsin. I want to thank the leaders in Houston and Miami for all their hard work throughout this process. They both put forward competitive proposals that I’m sure will lead them to hosting future conventions.”

“This is a great day for the city of Milwaukee and for the state of Wisconsin,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “Milwaukee is a first-class city, and we are ready to showcase Milwaukee on one of the largest stages in the world.”

The site selection process was led by Jess O’Connell and consisted of a Technical Advisory Group, which included seasoned veterans who have worked several cycles of conventions and are experts in the areas of housing, transportation, infrastructure, security, accessibility, and arena and production logistics.  These experts spent at least six months traveling to Milwaukee, Miami and Houston to see what each city had to offer. The RFP process was led by Leah Daughtry, which consisted of reviewing bids and determining the three finalists for this process.

The Milwaukee bid committee included Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Governor Tony Evers, Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, Congresswoman Gwen Moore and Milwaukee Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry.

For updates as they become available, we are encouraging people to register here.

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Milwaukee DNC 2020 Host Committee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2019
CONTACT:
Thad Nation, nation@nationconsulting.com
Jodie Tabak, Office of Mayor Barrett

Milwaukee Named Host City for 2020 Democratic National Convention

Convention will generate $200 million in economic impact; shine global spotlight on city

MILWAUKEE–The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced today that Milwaukee has been selected as the host city for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, slated for July 13-16, 2020.

“This is a great day for the city of Milwaukee and for the state of Wisconsin,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. “Milwaukee is a first-class city, and we are ready to showcase Milwaukee on one of the largest stages in the world.”

The selection represents the first return to the Midwest for the DNC Convention since Chicago in 1996; it’s the first-ever major national party convention ever for Wisconsin.

“There is no better place to showcase the Democratic Party’s vision for the future than in Wisconsin,” U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said. “The Midwest is a critical battleground and will be key to securing a better future for America.”

Milwaukee will take center stage in mid-July 2020, showcasing everything the city and the state of Wisconsin have to offer.

“The convention represents a tremendous opportunity for Milwaukee and Wisconsin to be on the world stage,” Governor Tony Evers said. “This is the chance to show the world what Wisconsin truly is: a great place to live, work, and visit.”

The convention is expected to draw more than 50,000 visitors and will have an estimated $200 million impact on the region.

“The DNC Convention presents a tremendous opportunity to build on Milwaukee's rich history of diversity, inclusion, and innovation,” Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes said. “Our local entrepreneurs and strong neighborhoods are among Milwaukee's greatest strengths, and a successful convention that includes these diverse partners will help communities throughout southeast Wisconsin thrive.”

There will be an estimated 1,500 events that will occur outside of the Fiserv Forum, presenting a multitude of opportunities for businesses and organizations throughout the Milwaukee area to benefit from the convention.

“This will be a huge economic opportunity for everyone in and around Milwaukee,” Congresswoman Gwen Moore said. “We need businesses big and small, from all over the city and around the region to play an important part in making this event successful. We are committed to making sure that everyone who wants to be involved gets the opportunity to be part of this effort.”

The preparations for the convention have already begun in earnest with the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, and the State of Wisconsin preparing to work with federal agencies to ensure the safety and security of all who attend the convention. Milwaukee’s corporate community, nonprofits, and small businesses will all be involved; and thousands of volunteers will be needed to help ensure the convention run smoothly.

“Milwaukee will be ready to host a tremendous experience for all of our visitors and residents,” Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said. “We will feature Milwaukee as a place that respects and values all people, a core belief of the Democratic Party – it’s an event I’ll be thrilled for us to host.”

The Co-Chairs of the Milwaukee DNC 2020 Host Committee will be Mayor Tom Barrett, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Governor Tony Evers, Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, and County Executive Chris Abele.

Stay tuned for information by following the host committee on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and by sharing on social media using #Milwaukee2020.

Background: Before the press conference, the Milwaukee City Council unanimously agreed to the city contract.  The 25-page City Agreement is here; this is "the contract between the City of Milwaukee, the DNC and the Host Committee and addresses mainly the City’s obligations with regard to the convention."  The starting point was language the DNC has used for past conventions; which was then tailored for Milwaukee.  Work on the agreement started in Aug. 2018; Deputy City Attorney Mary Schanning and Assistant City Attorney Andrea Fowler did the work for the City and DNC Counsel Graham Wilson for the party.  All told three contracts were signed: in addition to the City Agreement, there is a Master Agreement between the DNC and the Host Committee, which "addresses all of the obligations of the Host Committee with regard to fundraising, planning for and putting on the convention."  The third contract is between the DNC and the owners of venue ("The Good Land Committee, Inc.").    - ema

Mayor Tom Barrett: Well good afternoon one and all.  My name is Tom Barrett, I'm the Mayor of the City of Milwaukee, and on behalf of the residents of this city I want to welcome to Milwaukee the 2020 Democratic National Convention.  As a city we could not be more proud; as a state we could not be more proud. This city was founded in 1846, the state in 1848, and for the first time in the history of the city and the state, Milwaukee, Wisconsin will be hosting a major political national convention.

We all know that the competition for conventions like this are fierce. There's competition from the east coast, there's competition from the west coast, there's competition from the Gulf Coast, and I am here today to welcome all of America to America's fresh coast, because that is where this convention is going to be held.

And it's important that it be held here. It should be held here because Milwaukee and Wisconsin are in many ways [a] microcosm of this nation.

When people ask me how Milwaukee's doing, my response is we're fighting back. And we are fighting back. And this state is fighting back on two fronts. We're fighting back locally because we were a city that for many years was the blue– blue worker capital of this country. And we lost a lot of those jobs, and our economy has changed, but we're fighting back, trying to get more jobs so people can support their families. At the state level, we faced eight years of hostility and now with Gov. Evers and Mandela Barnes, we're back fighting in the governor's office as well.

So when we first started thinking about this back in 2013, we knew that there were challenges. The Fiserve Forum didn't exist.  Now it's the most technologically advanced arena in the country. We had far fewer hotel rooms and we have right now, but fast forward six years, and Milwaukee and Wisconsin, are ready to roar. We are ready to host this convention, and we're ready to make sure that all of America knows how much we care about the working people in our community. That's what this is about. The convention's about working people, it's about the elderly, it's about farmers; all of those individuals are right here in the state of Wisconsin.

So this was a team effort. And we asked Alex Lasry from the Bucks to help us lead this effort. And he stepped forward as did all of the Milwaukee Bucks organization. You can see the Milwaukee Bucks. They have the best record in the NBA right now and that's no accident,that is no accident.

The way the Bucks are playing, this convention is going to be as good as the Milwaukee Bucks are right now; it is going to be the best. With that, please welcome Alex Lasry.


Alex Lasry, Senior Vice President of the Milwaukee Bucks: Thank you and I just want to thank the Mayor; we would not be here without him. We wouldn't be here without [Milwaukee County Executive] Chris Abele, who I know couldn't be here today but just want to thank him for all of his hard work. Congresswoman Moore, Martha Laning, Jason Rae and Mandela and Gov. Evers and everyone this is such an incredible experience and thanks to the DNC for for choosing Milwaukee.

You know when we first set about going to get the convention, people were asking us like hey why should we do this, you know, what's in it for Milwaukee and Wisconsin? And what makes this convention so special and what makes it so special for Milwaukee and Wisconsin is the fact that this is our chance to reintroduce the city on the international stage. Milwaukee has been claimed to be you know the best kept secret in the Midwest, and as of today Milwaukee's being outed. We are now going to be known around the world, and when the eyes of the world are upon us, we're going to put our best foot forward, and it's going to be 50,000 people coming here, over $200 million of economic impact. This is a game changer for the state, for the city. And I think what's most impressive is the fact that we went up against two of the best cities in the country, two of the biggest cities in the country, and Milwaukee prevailed.

And so the next time someone tries to say that Milwaukee can't handle something, or that Milwaukee is too small or not capable, this is, you know, our punch back. This is the evidence that we can do anything we want when we reach for it. We will no longer be defined by our limitations, but you know, will now be a city that is going to constantly dream big and look to do bigger things, and so I want to thank everyone, especially in the Milwaukee community. We would not be here without all of their support and all of their hard work, and we look forward to bringing everyone into this, making this a convention that is made in Milwaukee, made in Wisconsin and making this the most successful one, the most successful convention yet. So thank you and go Bucks.


Mayor Barrett: As Alex mentioned there are so many people that have helped thus far, but more are going to be needed. We are looking for 12,000 of our closest personal friends to volunteer at the convention That is something that is imperative we have. But I want to just point out a couple of people, and I'll do this as we move through. Mary Schanning from the city attorney's office [inaud.] did a lot of work. Chief [Alfonso] Morales from the Milwaukee Police Department; they've already begun their work. The first person from the business community to step up, not surprisingly, John Schlifske [chairman, president and CEO] from Northwestern Mutual. And there are countless others that have been involved up to this point.

One person who has been involved from the very beginning is our wonderful congresswoman and she's got a busy day today. Congresswoman Moore,not only is a great congresswoman, she's a great mother, she's a great grandmother, and as of this morning, she's a proud second great grandmother for her new baby. Please welcome Congresswoman Moore.


Congresswoman Gwen Moore: Well good afternoon Milwaukee.

Just let me say, that we're known around here for the of the home of the cheese heads. But from now on we're going to be known as the DNC having a good head on their shoulders and choosing us; we're the choose heads from now on.

Listen, you have, I am so proud to be here with the other co-hosts for this event and of course Sen. Tammy Baldwin couldn't be with us here today and of course you've heard that Chris Abele is not here, but we do have Gov. Tony Evers is here with us today. Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is here with us today, and we are good we have, we're going to put that old Democratic spirit into this convention and it's going to be the Democratic Convention of all conventions.

Just let me say a couple of things about the this great place on the Great Lake. We have so much to share with the entire country of delegates who are coming here. We're expecting about 7,000 people and maybe 50,000 people when you consider all of the partners and mates and staff and others who come along with them. So we're expecting them to come, and we're going to have plenty of brots, lots of bear, lots of cheese, but more importantly, we're going to have the friendliest folks. They're going to get that great, Midwestern hospitality that only we can provide here in Milwaukee.

I am so proud of our partners. The Fiserve Forum, the Bucks for partnering with us to make sure that this dream could come true.

And I'll tell you this is just the beginning. There's going to be a lot of hard work, and so there are a lot of people who are not on this stage that are going to be in the background making sure that this is not just something that serves one sector of our community. But this is an opportunity to display not only our diversity in terms of the numbers of people who live here, but those businesses, small businesses—African American businesses, Hispanic businesses, Asian businesses, Christians, Muslims, people of no faith—everyone who can come together around the idea of making sure that that $200 million economic impact gets spread around the city. And trust me that will be my role in this convention to making sure that that happens.

And last thing that I want to say is that I just want to thank Tom Perez for choosing Milwaukee. I know that you're going to have some sleepless nights coming up when you hear from some of our colleagues. I promised Sheila that we would treat her like a queen when she got here.

I just want to thank a couple of other people that haven't been mentioned. We have DNC members here, Martha Love, David Bowen, standing there; our state party chair Martha Laning is here with us today, and thank them all for partnering. The hard work begins right now. Thank you.

I was looking right at you [INAUD] You are dressed for success....


Mayor Barrett: A couple other people that I want to point out here. Just an hour and a half ago our Milwaukee City Council unanimously agreed to our city contract. That was led by the President of our Common Council Ashanti Hamilton; Ashanti is here as well. Thank you very much. Went through unanimously; good job, very good job. Signed, sealed and delivered; that's great, great news.

 Organized labor, Stephanie Bloomingdale [president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO] is here as well. Thank you.  SEIU [Inaud]. 

Visit Milwaukee deserves a round of applause. Visit Milwaukee.

So some 17 years ago there was a young man who decided to move to Milwaukee to go to Marquette. 18 years old from Rice Lake, Wisconsin by the name of Jason Rae. And he took this town by storm. He started then and he hasn't stopped now, working for justice, working for equality; a great, great spokesperson and leader in the LGBTQ plus community, and now the secretary of the national Democratic Party. Let me introduce Jason Rae. Jason.


Jason Rae, Secretary of the DNC: Well thank you Mr. Mayor and thank you to all of you for being here. You know, I am proud to be a DNC officer; I'm proud to be our DNC secretary, but I'm even prouder to do, today to be a Wisconsinite and be welcoming the 2020 Democratic National Convention here to Milwaukee. This is a wonderful opportunity for our city and I am thrilled about this.

I've had the pleasure and privilege to attend four different Democratic National Conventions and this will be my fifth. And I can tell you Milwaukee is ready to pull out all the stops to have the absolute best Democratic Convention we have ever seen. I want to thank chair Tom Perez for trusting the people of Milwaukee, knowing that we can put on a show that will rival anything else. So Mr Chair, thank you for choosing Milwaukee.

I want to thank Mayor Barrett, Alex Lasry, Congresswoman Moore, Senator Baldwin, Executive Abele and the entire team that has really worked to bring this convention to fruition. This is going to be a wonderful opportunity for our city, for our state, and most importantly for our region, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we build towards July 13th-16th of 2020 when when we welcome the world here to Milwaukee, so thank you.


Congresswoman Moore: Since I didn't bother to introduce Jason Rae. He will have a very insignificant role at the Fiserve Forum on the night when we nominate our nominee—very, very low key job. He will be calling the roll of the 50 states when the delegates vote.


Mayor Barrett: Well before I introduce our next speaker, I, I want to make sure that Chairman Perez and his team knows how much we value the work that you have done not only here but in the other communities.

Mr. Chairman, I know that this was a difficult decision. I know that all three cities put forth everything that they could. I know that there are risks involved whenever you make a decision, but I guarantee you we will not disappoint. I guarantee this city [inaud.]

But I personally thank you again for your leadership on this. I want to thank Jess O'Connell. I want to thank your whole team. You have a great team, and I'll always remember the first day we came into this building. This building was two days old at the time. If you ever want to show off a building that's $500 million, show it off when it's two days old and  no one has been in it. It looks really, really good. And I think that that was really the start of something special. So we're very, very pleased [inaud.]. 

The next person I want to introduce is a person who has created history in the state of Wisconsin.  Mandela Bart is a leader. He's a new generation leader, and he loves to talk about how he and the governor form this perfect team and they do form a perfect team. I'm proud, very proud that at one point he served as an intern in my office and now he's essentially my boss. But he's come a long way and he's got a long way to go. Mr. Lieutenant Governor, Mandela Barnes.


Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes: Thanks so much, Mayor Barrett. Thank you, Alex. Thank you, Jason Thank you Congresswoman. And thank you all for being here. It is, it is fancy seeing you all here today. Alright.

A lot of acknowledgements that have been made about, you know, the people worked so hard to put this together but I do want to take a moment to acknowledge a lot of the hard working people I see around here; that keep this building running, day and night. All the fantastic employees who keep the state of the art building just running in tip top shape, and the people who are going to make sure that this convention goes off without a hitch. I see a lot of you and audience right now. I just want to thank you all for being here. Thank you for what you've done. Thank you for what you're going to do for this entire convention. I see a lot of Milwaukee area service hospitality workers in the room as well, so thank you for yoru support.

This is an exciting day for the City of Milwaukee, for the state of Wisconsin, and for the Democratic Party, as we pave a new way, a new direction, which really isn't a new direction at all when you look at the City of Milwaukee and what it means to working class people that have working class roots and to support that through organizing.

My story here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a person who is still a resident of the city of Milwaukee. I am proud of my roots here. I'm proud of the fact that my grandfather chose Milwaukee after serving in the war, proud of the fact that my parents chose to stay here. My mother moved to Milwaukee from Birmingham when she and my dad got married. It was because of my middle class upbringing, that was provided in this blue collar community that Mayor Barrett talked about that allow me to stand here in front of you today as Lieutenant Governor.

And the sooner we get back to those roots is the sooner we'll get back to changing the direction of this entire country. So I'm proud that Milwaukee was chosen. It was not an accident. And it's not lost on us the strides that we must continue to make for opportunity, for fairness, for justice. And that's why we're in this fight. Milwaukee is a story of resilience, it is the story of hope and it is the story of opportunity, and I think you are going to witness that firsthand, not just when the convention rolls around, but all the days leading up to it, and all the days after.

So, Gov. Evers, I was very excited to run with you during our entire campaign, very excited to serve with you as Lieutenant Governor. If you look on the heels of 2016, Wisconsin was an example of how do we bounce back, how do we try to recreate America in a more positive image. That is what we stand for. And that's what we're going to continue to stand for and that's how we're going to lead by example. And so, in 2018 we had a really great exciting year, and we plan to carry that momentum into 2020 and beyond.

And so, I Alex I'm really excited about this. Serena's have been here a few times now. It is gonna be very overwhelming. A lot of people in this room going to be put to work. It is, it is not going to be easy, but it's something that we are more than ready to pull off. We've done big things before, and we're going to do bigger things in the future so with that being said, the governor of the state of Wisconsin, the man who's made us all proud, the reason,one of the main reasons why this convention is going to be brought to Wisconsin, because you showed us what it meant to leadwith a vision. In 2020 there's no greater year than to lead with the vision. So with that being said, Gov. Tony Evers.


Gov. Tony Evers: Thank you Mandela, and I also want to recognize Sarah Godlewski, who's our state treasurer, who's also here.

Now this is really interesting for me because I am absolutely not a superstitious person, never have been, and frankly, never will be except for yesterday. I see that there's one person in the audience here who is wearing the 2020 DNC convention. And that was given to me, that shirt was given to me about three weeks ago, maybe a month ago. And when it was given to me I said, I am not wearing this; we don't know if we're going to have it. And just yesterday, my wife and I were walking out the door, and I said I want to wear this, and I had it almost on, and I said, no, I cannot do that. And I put it down and by God, here we are today.

This is outstanding. I'm so excited.

And yes Mandela, our campaign was, was somewhat of a precursor to this event but it is, it is without a doubt something that I am looking forward to my first Democratic National Convention. How about that? And I can't wait to be here for that.

The thing that strikes me as I've talked to people, calling people for support for this event for the last several months, is that people, when I talk to them. In this respect—the ability for us to showcase Wisconsin as a place where we value diversity and inclusivity and value young people. We can do that with this convention. That is so important for the state of Wisconsin. We're, we're a great state, but we need, we need to have some vitality and making sure that people understand how great this city, and how great this state is. And so I, when I've used that pitch, frankly, I've gotten support. I've actually had people say, yes, this is something we want to get behind. And so I'm pleased to not only represent the state of Wisconsin at this event today, but I can't wait to be here for the convention itself. It's going to be a lot of fun, a lot of drama, all the things that make make my life interesting every single day. There's nothing better than drama and we've got a lot of it in this state.

But we have, Milwaukee has always been and always will be the economic engine of this state. Milwaukee has always been a place where we struggle a lot, but we solve a lot. And that is what this last race for governor was, around some really basic issues, around healthcare and transportation, making sure that we have a great education system here in the state of Wisconsin. And those are, frankly, those are blue collar issues. People in the state want those issues that's why Mandela and I and others were elected. So, with that background, I feel confident that having the convention here in Milwaukee in the state of Wisconsin, will bring not only people to understand how great the state is, but actually will bring us a win in 2020 in the presidential race. So I'm looking forward to that.

Now I also have to recognize and introduce Chairman Tom Perez. Tom has been a great fighter for us. He, he was here when Mandela and I were running, and he came all across the state with us and he came back at the last minute to kind of push us over the, push us over the top, and I can't thank him more. And we're having this recognition today. Tom has been a great friend for Wisconsin. I know he had a difficult choice, and I know there was issues that had to be resolved, and he did it in a fair, constructive way. And as I said before, I never put that shirt on until I will get home tonight and put it on.

But Tom is a champion, not only for the state of Wisconsin but for Democrats and working people all across this country, and it's my honor to introduce Tom Perez.


DNC Chairman Tom Perez: Good afternoon. Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon everyone. It is truly an honor to be here today. And this. Don't forget, folks. 490 days. And this place will be hopping. 490 days. And we will have a discussion about how to retake our democracy in the city of Milwaukee; that discussion will not only ripple across Lake Michigan, it will ripple across the world. 490 days before we formally nominate our Democratic candidate in what will be the most important election of my lifetime, and I suspect everyone in this room's lifetime.

That's what it's about. And I am so proud to be here today, and I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to say thank you to so many people who have been involved, people on our DNC team. I see a guy in the back there who always moves to the back of the room; his name's Sam Cornale; Sam is our deputy CEO and has been involved in site selection. Graham Wilson is our attorney, who has been working very closely with the city attorney. We've had so many other folks. Jess O'Connell can't be here today; she led our site selection team. We had a bunch of incredibly talented people who did so many things. It is always an honor to work with Gwen Moore. You have a powerhouse in DC. Y'all know that, but I'm here to say that is the case. Okay.

And Jason Rae has transformed the DNC. The secretary position is one of the most important positions in the DNC, and Jason came in, he said, we are going to transform this office, and he did just that. And he did it in short order. So Jason thank you for your leadership.

I did not know Mark Lasry until this process began, and I didn't know Alex Lasry until this process began. And I've gotten to know Alex Lasry incredibly well over the course of the last year. Alex has gotten a lot of calls from a lot of people at the DNC, and he has been so responsive every single time. We got more work to do. Make no mistake about it. Today is the end of one chapter, and the beginning of another chapter, and Alex understands that; everybody understands that. Mayor Barrett has been, again, someone with who I have a speed dial relationship. He knows my number by heart and I know his number by heart. That is a fact and Mayor thank you for your responsesiveness, thank you for your leadership. This is in many respects your day because of the great work that you have done here. And to the dynamic duo here [Evers and Barnes]. I mean this is a remarkably dynamic duo. Behind them sit one of the best party chairs in America, Martha Laning. And to her left David Bowen and Martha Love. And the man who always has his gun violence reduction on. And we were so happy that Gwen Moore and others led the charge in the US House of Representatives.

So, you know, roughly two weeks before the election I went on a non-stop tour the country. It was the most important midterm election of our lifetime. We were proud to have made unprecedented investments here, and elsewhere.And I went to about a dozen states in the last 10 days.

And as luck would have it, good fortune, I would say would have it, my last visit the day before the election was here in the city of Milwaukee. I spent time with Mayor Barrett at, in South Milwaukee at a remarkable super mercado con Jocasta [speaks in Spanish for a short while].

I spent time with the Native American advocates who understood that our voice is our vote our vote is our voice, and our numbers are our power, but if we don't exercise the right to vote, we lose our power.

I spent time with a remarkably impressive group of people called BLOC, B-L-O-C. I don't know if anyone from BLOC is here, but y'all got game. Angela thank you for your leadership.

I spent time with so many people in the Wisconsin Democratic Party, because it was a remarkable partnership, Martha. Spent time with a lot of union folk who were out there getting out the vote. And they were doing remarkable things. This was all in the last day, the run up to the election, and prior to that I had been in rural Wisconsin listening to folks. And what I am most proud of is that the Democratic Party has again become an every zip code party. We're listening to people in every corner of the country.

And that is what we did the day before, I had the privilege of spending some time on FM radio here, I had the privilege of spending some time on Spanish language radio here in Milwaukee, had the privilege.

In short. I've seen America in microcosm right here in the remarkable city of Milwaukee, and it was all in service of electing Democrats up and down the ticket, and it started with these two wonderful people—Tony Evers, Tony and Mandela.

And I'll tell you. On Election Day after a decade of Republican attacks on working people, on labor unions, on communities of color, attacks on voting rights, attacks on education, the people of this state said loudly and clearly enough is enough, and we swept all of the statewide races. That's a big deal. And if Joe Biden were here, he'd have another acronym for that, but I won't say it, okay. And  I will say one more thing but for gerrymandering that we would have won a lot more seats, and the governor is going to fix that.

And frankly across the region from Minnesota to Illinois to Michigan to Pennsylvania and across the country from Maine to California to Arizona to Oklahoma to North and South Carolina, and elsewhere we proved that 2018 across America Donald Trump and his Republican Party are an exception, not the direction of our country.

Folks the Democratic Party is back thanks to the voters here and elsewhere, and we're back with a renewed sense of purpose, demonstrating that we will win this fight for working people, that we will compete in every zip code that we will fight for communities of color, for women, for the next generation of voters, for those living in the shadows, and we will win these fights.

We are halfway up the mountain top, but we know a lot more work remains. The second half of a climb up the mountain top is harder than the first half.  But we have an army of people, because our democracy is on fire. It's a five alarm blaze, and we have first responders in this room and elsewhere, prepared to take back our democracy.

And folks, every single question I ask, every single decision I make as DNC chair is motivated by one overriding concern. How can we win elections and take back our democracy? And toward that end I am thrilled to announce that in 2020, for the first time in history, the Democratic Party's national convention will be held right here in the great state of Wisconsin in a great city of Milwaukee.

Let me underscore something that the mayor said because it is so true. This wasn't easy. We started out with almost 10 cities; came down to three. And they were three spectacular cities. Miami, Houston, Milwaukee. They had spectacular bids that they put forth. It took us a little longer for the simple reason that we had a dilemma, what I would call an enviable dilemma. I always strive in life, to have enviable dilemmas.

Contrast that with the other side. They had zero options. And then they twisted the arm of one city to take their convention. And it's a wonderful city I might add, Charlotte ,North Carolina led by Vi Lyles, the first African American female mayor of the great city of Charlotte.

But I wanted to say again, to Mayor Gelber and his chief of staff Michelle Berger in Miami, and the bipartisan group of mayors who came together around their bid—they were spectacular.

Houston, is another unbelievable, vibrant, diverse city. Mayor Turner with his team Barb and Susan, one of the main people involved was the owner of the Houston Rockets Tilman Fertitta, restauranteur, entrepreneur; Jim Crane, so many others put together a compelling case.

And my good... [missing just a bit at the end]