Minneapolis emerged this week as one of four finalists for the Democratic National Convention in 2012, four years after the Twin Cities hosted a Republican National Convention that organizers say funneled $168 million into the local economy.
Mayor R.T. Rybak said he wants the convention based at the Metrodome, provided planners agree, with ancillary events at the city's Convention Center and Target Center.
But first the city needs to beat out Cleveland, St. Louis and Charlotte, N.C., to land the convention. Both precedent and politics suggest that will be a tall order.
It's been 50 years since one of the two major parties had a convention where the opposing party had it four years before. And Democrats arguably could get more political bang for their bucks in a swing state with more electoral votes. Minnesota, with 10 votes, has fewer than any city on the short list, and its votes are considered less at risk.
Ohio, with 20 electoral votes, and Missouri, with 11, were battlegrounds in the 2008 presidential election, and Democrats may feel a greater need to curry favor with voters in those states.
"If President Obama can't win Minnesota, he's not going to be president anymore," said David Lillehaug, a Democratic activist and lawyer. Political commentator Blois Olson went further: "I think it'll go to Cleveland. That's an easy one. You can't win the presidency without Ohio these days."
There were indications this week that making the short list wasn't much of a hurdle. Inquiries by the Star Tribune found only two additional major cities that discussed making a bid -- Philadelphia, which didn't bid, and Phoenix, which did but is being shunned by some conventiongoers because of Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration.
A Democratic National Committee spokeswoman refused to say how many cities bid. Minneapolis now needs to prepare for a July 18-20 visit by a site selection committee. It also will need to form a host committee that would face raising at least $50 million to finance the event if the city is awarded the convention, which could start the week of Labor Day 2012.