'08 Dem Convention will be in Denver

In 2004, President Bush won 97 of the fastest-growing 100 counties in the country.  Most of those countries were in the west, which is in the midst of a major population boom.  Arizona and Nevada are the growing faster than any other states in the country.  Idaho and Utah are not far behind.  Another state that is expanding rapidly is Colorado.  Today, the DNC announced that the state's capital, Denver, will host the 2008 Democratic National Convention.  DNC Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"I am delighted to announce that the city of Denver will host the 2008Democratic National Convention. I congratulate Mayor Hickenlooper,Governor Ritter, Senator Salazar and the members of the Denver HostCommittee for assembling an outstanding bid that demonstrates thecommunity's commitment to organizing a first-rate national conventionthat will put our nominee on the path to victory in 2008.

"There is no question that the West is important to the future of theDemocratic Party. The recent Democratic gains in the West exemplify theprinciple that when we show up and ask for people's votes and talkabout what we stand for, we can win in any part of the country.Additionally, we have a number of strong Democratic leaders in the Westwho will be a part of showcasing the vision of Democratic leadershipfor America as we introduce the next Democratic President in the RockyMountains.

The Washington Post has the raw data:

The convention _ which is expected to attract 35,000, including 4,950delegates and alternates _ will be held from Aug. 25-28 after theSummer Olympics in Beijing.

The Republican National Convention will start just 4 days later, on Sept. 1 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908, whenDemocrats nominated William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska in his thirdunsuccessful effort as the party's standard-bearer.

This is second recent occasion in which the Democratic Party big whigs back in Washington began acknowledging the growing importance of the west in 21st century politics.  The political epicenter shifted west when the party announced last year that Nevada's presidential caucus would move up even before the New Hampshire primary, giving the silver state added attention, and potentially extra dollars for local politicians.  Harry Reid, the new Senate Majority Leader, is also from Nevada.

It looks like the party consultants are finally figuring out that they must win over western independents in order to win the presidency and hold both chambers of Congress.