This is a list of Democratic National Conventions. These conventions are the presidential nominating conventions of the Democratic Party of the United States. Click on the year to take you to the corresponding article about the convention. (Conventions whose nominees won the subsequent presidential election are tinted in light blue.)
Date | Location | Permanent Chairman | Platform |
Ballots | Presidential Nominee |
Vice Presidential Nominee |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 21–23, 1832 | The Athenaeum and Warfield's Church, Baltimore | Robert Lucas of Ohio | (none) | 1 | Pres. Andrew Jackson of Tennessee1 | Martin Van Buren of New York |
May 20–22, 1835 | Fourth Presbyterian Church, Baltimore | Andrew Stevenson of Virginia | (none) | 1 | Vice Pres. Martin Van Buren of New York | Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky |
May 5–6, 1840 | The Assembly Rooms, Baltimore | William Carroll of Tennessee | 1840 platform |
1 | Pres. Martin Van Buren of New York | None2 |
May 27–29, 1844 | Odd Fellows Hall, Baltimore | Hendrick Bradley Wright of Pennsylvania | 1844 platform |
9 | James K. Polk of Tennessee | George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania3 |
May 22–25, 1848 | Universalist Church, Baltimore | Andrew Stevenson of Virginia | 1848 platform |
4 | Lewis Cass of Michigan | William O. Butler of Kentucky |
June 1–5, 1852 | Maryland Institute, Baltimore | John W. Davis of Indiana | 1852 platform |
49 | Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire | William R. King of Alabama |
June 2–6, 1856 | Smith and Nixon's Hall, Cincinnati | John Elliot Ward of Georgia | 1856 platform |
17 | James Buchanan of Pennsylvania | John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky |
April 23-May 3, 1860 | South Carolina Institute Hall, Charleston | Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts | (see below) | 57 | none (deadlocked) | none (deadlocked) |
June 18–23, 1860 | Front Street Theater, Baltimore | Caleb Cushing 4 David Tod of Ohio |
1860 N.D. platform |
2 | Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois5 | Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia5 6 |
August 29–31, 1864 | The Amphitheatre, Chicago | Horatio Seymour of New York | 1864 platform |
1 | George B. McClellan of New Jersey | George H. Pendleton of Ohio |
July 4–9, 1868 | Tammany Hall, New York | Horatio Seymour of New York | 1868 platform |
22 | Horatio Seymour of New York | Francis P. Blair, Jr. of Missouri |
July 9–10, 1872 7 | Ford's Grand Opera House, Baltimore | James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin | 1872 platform |
1 | Horace Greeley of New York 7 |
B. Gratz Brown of Missouri 7 |
June 27–29, 1876 | Merchant's Exchange Building, St. Louis | John A. McClernand of Illinois | 1876 platform |
2 | Samuel J. Tilden of New York | Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana |
June 22–24, 1880 | Cincinnati Music Hall | John W. Stevenson of Kentucky | 1880 platform |
2 | Winfield S. Hancock of Pennsylvania | William H. English of Indiana |
July 8–11, 1884 | Interstate Exposition Building, Chicago | William F. Vilas of Wisconsin | 1884 platform |
2 | Grover Cleveland of New York | Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana |
June 5–7, 1888 | Exposition Building, St. Louis | Patrick A. Collins of Massachusetts | 1888 platform |
1 | Pres. Grover Cleveland of New York | Allen G. Thurman of Ohio |
June 21–23, 1892 | Wigwam, Chicago | William Lyne Wilson of West Virginia | 1892 platform |
1 | ex-Pres. Grover Cleveland of New York | Adlai E. Stevenson I of Illinois |
July 7–11, 1896 8 | Chicago Coliseum | Stephen M. White of California | 1896 platform |
about 5 | William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska 9 | Arthur Sewall of Maine |
July 4–6, 1900 | Convention Hall, Kansas City | James D. Richardson of Tennessee | 1900 platform |
1 | William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska | ex-Vice Pres. Adlai E. Stevenson I of Illinois |
July 6–9, 1904 | St. Louis Coliseum | Champ Clark of Missouri | 1904 platform |
1 | Alton B. Parker of New York | Henry G. Davis of West Virginia |
July 7–10, 1908 | Denver Arena Auditorium | Henry D. Clayton of Alabama | 1908 platform |
1 | William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska | John W. Kern of Indiana |
June 25-July 2, 1912 | Fifth Regiment Armory, Baltimore | Ollie M. James of Kentucky | 1912 platform |
46 | Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey | Thomas R. Marshall of Indiana |
June 14–16, 1916 | Convention Hall, St. Louis | Ollie M. James of Kentucky | 1916 platform |
1 | Pres. Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey (speech) | Vice Pres. Thomas R. Marshall of Indiana |
June 28-July 6, 1920 | Civic Auditorium, San Francisco | Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas | 1920 platform |
43 | James M. Cox of Ohio | Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York |
June 24-July 9, 1924 | Madison Square Garden, New York | Thomas J. Walsh of Montana | 1924 platform |
103 | John W. Davis of New York | Charles W. Bryan of Nebraska |
June 26–29, 1928 | Sam Houston Hall, Houston | Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas | 1928 platform |
1 | Alfred E. Smith of New York (speech) | Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas |
June 27-July 2, 1932 | Chicago Stadium | Thomas J. Walsh of Montana | 1932 platform |
4 | Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York (speech) | John Nance Garner of Texas |
June 23–27, 1936 | Convention Hall, Philadelphia | Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas | 1936 platform |
Acclamation | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York (speech) | Vice Pres. John Nance Garner of Texas |
July 15–18, 1940 | Chicago Stadium | Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky | 1940 platform |
1 | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York (speech) | Henry A. Wallace of Iowa |
July 19–21, 1944 | Chicago Stadium | Samuel D. Jackson of Indiana | 1944 platform |
1 | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York (speech) | Harry S. Truman of Missouri |
July 12–14, 1948 10 | Convention Hall, Philadelphia | Sam Rayburn of Texas | 1948 platform |
1 | Pres. Harry S. Truman of Missouri (speech) | Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky |
July 21–26, 1952 | International Amphitheatre, Chicago | Sam Rayburn of Texas | 1952 platform |
3 | Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois (speech) | John J. Sparkman of Alabama |
August 13–17, 1956 | International Amphitheatre, Chicago | Sam Rayburn of Texas | 1956 platform |
1 | Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois (speech) | Estes Kefauver of Tennessee |
July 11–15, 1960 | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and Memorial Coliseum | Leroy Collins of Florida | 1960 platform |
1 | John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts (speech) | Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas |
August 24–27, 1964 | Convention Center, Atlantic City | John W. McCormack of Massachusetts | 1964 platform |
Acclamation | Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas (speech) | Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota |
August 26–29, 1968 | International Amphitheatre, Chicago | Carl Albert of Oklahoma | 1968 platform |
1 | V.P. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota (speech) | Edmund S. Muskie of Maine |
July 10–13, 1972 | Miami Beach Convention Center | Lawrence F. O'Brien of Massachusetts | 1972 platform |
1 | George S. McGovern of South Dakota (speech) | Thomas F. Eagleton of Missouri 11 |
July 12–15, 1976 | Madison Square Garden, New York | Lindy Boggs of Louisiana | 1976 platform |
1 | Jimmy Carter of Georgia (speech) | Walter Mondale of Minnesota |
August 11–14, 1980 | Madison Square Garden, New York | Tip O'Neill of Massachusetts | 1980 platform |
1 | Pres. Jimmy Carter of Georgia (speech) | Vice Pres. Walter Mondale of Minnesota |
July 16–19, 1984 | Moscone Center, San Francisco | Martha Layne Collins of Kentucky | 1984 platform |
1 | ex-V.P. Walter Mondale of Minnesota (speech) | Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York |
July 18–21, 1988 | The Omni, Atlanta | James C. Wright of Texas | 1988 platform |
1 | Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts (speech) | Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. of Texas |
July 13–16, 1992 | Madison Square Garden, New York | Ann Richards of Texas | 1992 platform |
1 | William J. Clinton of Arkansas (speech) | Albert A. Gore, Jr. of Tennessee |
August 26–29, 1996 | United Center, Chicago | Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Tom Daschle of South Dakota | 1996 platform |
Acclamation | Pres. William J. Clinton of Arkansas (speech) | Vice Pres. Albert A. Gore, Jr. of Tennessee |
August 14–17, 2000 | Staples Center, Los Angeles | Terry McAuliffe of New York | 2000 platform |
Acclamation | Vice Pres. Albert A. Gore, Jr. of Tennessee (speech) | Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut |
July 26–29, 2004 | FleetCenter, Boston | Bill Richardson of New Mexico | 2004 platform |
1 | John F. Kerry of Massachusetts (speech) | John R. Edwards of North Carolina |
August 25–28, 2008 | Pepsi Center and Invesco Field, Denver | Nancy Pelosi of California | 2008 platform |
1/Acclamation | Barack H. Obama of Illinois (speech) | Joseph R. Biden of Delaware |
September 4–6, 2012 | Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte | Antonio Villaraigosa of California | 2012 platform |
1/Acclamation | Pres. Barack H. Obama of Illinois (speech) | Vice Pres. Joseph R. Biden of Delaware |
Footnotes
1 A resolution endorsing "the repeated nominations which he has received in various parts of the Union" was passed by the convention.
2 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 Silas Wright of New York was first nominated and he declined the nomination.
4 Caleb Cushing resigned as permanent chairman.
5 Douglas 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 chairman and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky was nominated for the presidency and Joseph Lane of Oregon was nominated for the vice presidency. (1860 Southern Democratic platform)
6 Benjamin Fitzpatrick of Alabama was first nominated but he declined the nomination.
7 Greeley 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 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 "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 on September 2, and nominated John M. Palmer of Illinois for President and former Governor Simon Bolivar Buckner 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 meeting on July 22, and by the People's Party (Populists) meeting on July 25.
10 Breakaway 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 for Vice President. (1948 Progressive Party platform) ¶ The States' Rights Democrats (or "Dixiecrats"), meeting in Birmingham, Alabama on July 17, nominated Governors J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina for President and Fielding Wright of Mississippi for Vice President. (1948 States' Rights Democratic platform)
11 Eagleton withdrew his candidacy after the convention and was replaced by R. Sargent Shriver, Jr. of Maryland.
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