This is a list of Democratic National Conventions. These conventions are the presidential nominating conventions of the Democratic Party of the United States of America.

List of Democratic National Conventions

* Conventions whose nominees won the subsequent presidential election are tinted in light blue. * Four other conventions — in 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 — which nominated candidates who won the popular vote, but not the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

, are tinted in pale yellow. Footnotes ¹ 832A resolution endorsing "the repeated nominations which he acksonhas received in various parts of the Union" was passed by the convention.
²

840 __NOTOC__ Year 840 (Roman numerals, DCCCXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday in the Julian calendar, the 840th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 840th year of the 1st millennium, the 40th year of the 9th cen ...

A resolution stating "that the convention deem it expedient at the present time not to choose between the individuals in nomination, but to leave the decision to their Republican fellow-citizens in the several states" was passed by the convention. Most Van Buren electors voted for Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky for the vice presidency; others voted for Littleton Waller Tazewell of Virginia and James K. Polk of Tennessee in the election of 1840.
³ 844 Silas Wright of New York was first nominated and he declined the nomination.
⁴ 860 JuneCaleb Cushing resigned as permanent chair.
⁵ 860 JuneDouglas and Johnson were chosen as the candidates of the Front Street Theater convention after most of the Southern delegations walked out. The convention bolters soon formed their own convention, located at the Maryland Institute, also in Baltimore, on June 28, 1860. At their convention Caleb Cushing again served as permanent chair and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky was nominated for the presidency and Joseph Lane of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

was nominated for the vice presidency.
1860 Southern Democratic platform

⁶ 860 June

Benjamin Fitzpatrick Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 – November 21, 1869) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Alabama, 11th Governor of Alabama and as a United States Senate, United States Senator from that state. He was a Democrat ...

of Alabama was first nominated but he declined the nomination.
⁷ 872Greeley and B. Gratz Brown had already been endorsed by the Liberal Republican Party, meeting on May 1 in Cincinnati. A dissident group of Straight-Out Democrats, meeting in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

on September 3, nominated Charles O'Conor of New York for President and John Quincy Adams II of Massachusetts for Vice President, but both men declined the nomination.
⁸

896 __NOTOC__ Year 896 ( DCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of an East Frankish expeditionary army. He storms ...

"Gold" Democrats opposed to the Free Silver plank of the 1896 platform and to Wm J. Bryan's candidacy convened as the National Democratic Party in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

on September 2, and nominated John M. Palmer of Illinois for President and former Governor

Simon Bolivar Buckner Simon Bolivar Buckner ( ; April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was an American soldier, Confederate military officer, and politician. He fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War. He later fought in the Confederate State ...

of Kentucky for Vice President.
⁹

Bryan was later nominated for President in St. Louis, together with Thomas E. Watson of Georgia for Vice President, by the National

Silver Republican Party The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary monet ...

meeting on July 22, and by the People's Party (Populists) meeting on July 25.
¹⁰ 948Breakaway delegations left the Philadelphia Convention for conventions of the Progressive and States Rights Democratic Parties. The Progressives, meeting on July 23, also in Philadelphia, nominated former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for President and Senator Glen H. Taylor of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

for Vice President.
1948 Progressive Party platform

The States' Rights Democrats (or "Dixiecrats"), meeting in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

on July 17, nominated Governors

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

for President and Fielding Wright of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

for Vice President.
1948 States' Rights Democratic platform

¹¹ 972Eagleton withdrew his candidacy after the convention and was replaced by

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. He was a member of the Shriver family by birth, and a member of the Kennedy family through his marriage to Eunice Kennedy. ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

.
¹² 016

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Deborah Wasserman Schultz ( Wasserman; ; born September 27, 1966) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , first elected to Congress in United States House of Representatives elec ...

of Florida was intended to be the Temporary Chair, but was substituted for Stephanie Rawlings-Blake by the Democratic National Committee in the wake of the Wasserman/DNC email leak scandal. Wasserman resigned as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee effective after the close of the convention.
¹³ 020Originally scheduled for July 13–16, and originally planned for the Fiserv Forum, but postponed and moved due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

.
¹⁴ 020Centered in Milwaukee, but many speeches and roll call responses were given remotely due to the

Keynote speakers

* 1896 – U.S. Senator John W. Daniel of Virginia * 1900 – Governor Charles S. Thomas of Colorado * 1904 – U.S. Representative John Sharp Williams of Mississippi * 1908 – U.S. Representative Theodore Bell of California * 1912 – Chief Judge

Alton B. Parker Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge. He was the Democratic nominee in the 1904 United States presidential election, losing in a landslide to incumbent Republican Theodore Roosevelt. A native of upstate New ...

of New York * 1916 – Governor Martin Glynn of New York * 1920 – DNC Chair Homer Cummings of Connecticut * 1924 – U.S. Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi * 1928 – Claude Bowers of New York * 1932 – U.S. Senator

Alben Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was the 35th vice president of the United States serving from 1949 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. In 1905, he was elected to local offices and in 1912 as a U.S. rep ...

of Kentucky * 1936 – U.S. Senator

of Kentucky and U.S. Senator Joseph Robinson of Arkansas * 1940 – U.S. Representative William Bankhead of Alabama * 1944 – Governor Robert Kerr of Oklahoma * 1948 – U.S. Senator

of Kentucky * 1952 – Governor Paul Dever of Massachusetts * 1956 – Governor Frank Clement of Tennessee * 1960 – U.S. Senator Frank Church of Idaho * 1964 – U.S. Senator John O. Pastore of Rhode Island * 1968 – U.S. Senator

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( , , September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. A Medal of Honor recipi ...

of Hawaii * 1972 – Governor

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

of Florida * 1976 – U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan of Texas and U.S. Senator

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...

of Ohio * 1980 – U.S. Representative Mo Udall of Arizona * 1984 – Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

of New York * 1988 – State Treasurer Ann Richards of Texas * 1992 – U.S. Senator

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...

of New Jersey, U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan of Texas, and Governor

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 79th governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States senator representing the state from 2000 to 2005. He was a member of the Dem ...

of Georgia * 1996 – Governor

Evan Bayh Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Indiana, 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997 and as a United States Senate, United States senator representing Indi ...

of Indiana * 2000 – U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee * 2004 – State Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

of Illinois * 2008 – Governor

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...

of Virginia * 2012 – Mayor Julián Castro of Texas * 2016 – U.S. Senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

of Massachusetts * 2020 – 17 speakers * 2024 – County Executive

Angela Alsobrooks Angela Deneece Alsobrooks (born February 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Maryland. A member of the Democrati ...

of Maryland

Gallery of convention sites

File:The_Democratic_convention_at_Charleston,_South_Carolina_-_Interior_of_the_hall_of_the_South_Carolina_Institute_in_Meeting_Street_(cropped1).jpg,

Wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively l ...

of the failed 1860 Charleston convention File:Tammany_Hall_interior_for_the_national_convention_1868_crop.jpeg,

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

decorated for the 1868 convention File:1872_Democratic_National_Convention_-_Maryland_(cropped).jpg, Interior of Ford's Grand Opera House during the 1872 convention File:1876_Democratic_National_Convention_-_Missouri_(cropped).jpg, 1876 convention File:1880_DNC_(cropped).jpg, 1880 convention. File:8407-democraticconvention-halldiagram.jpg, Diagram of Convention Hall, Chicago, site of the 1884 convention File:Opening_session,_Democratic_National_Convention,_1904,_St._Louis,_Mo_LCCN2007663555_(cropped2).jpg, Opening session at the 1904 convention File:Baltimore_Convention_in_Session_(4295271031)_(cropped).jpg, 1912 convention in-session File:Opening session of the 1924 Democratic convention.png, 1924 convention in-session File:1928_DNC_IMG_8470.jpg, Photograph of the 1928 convention File:Eleanor_Roosevelt_addresses_Democratic_National_Convention,_Chicago,_Illinois._July_18,_1940.jpg, First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

speaking on the final day of the 1940 convention File:DemConv1960 (cropped).jpg, 1960 convention hall File:1964_DNC_day_1_(a).jpg, 1964 convention floor File:DNC_Nlc18572-21.jpg, Carter and Mondale stand together at the end of the 1976 convention File:1996_Democratic_National_Convention.jpg, 1996 convention hall File:Mayor_Thomas_M._Menino_welcomes_delegates_to_the_2004_Democratic_National_Convention_(15488514810).jpg, Boston mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...

welcomes delegates to the 2004 convention File:Jesse Jackson, Jr. DNC 2008.jpg, Floor of the 2008 convention File:ObamaSpeech2008DNC.jpg, Invesco Field, site of

's 2008 acceptance speech File:2012 DNC Debbie Wasserman Schultz (7935583066).jpg, Floor of the 2012 convention File:Hillary Clinton Speech at Democratic National Convention (July 28, 2016).jpg, Nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

speaks at the 2016 convention

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic National Conventions * Democratic Party (United States)-related lists

List of Democratic National Conventions

Keynote speakers

Gallery of convention sites

See also

References