If Columbus doesn't get the Democratic convention, it won't be for lack of trying

Don’t be jealous, Cincinnati, but our neighbor to the north, Columbus, may be on the verge of landing its first presidential nominating convention

And, if the Democratic National Committee decides to land its 2016 convention in Ohio’s capital city, it will mean the Buckeye State will be hosting both major party presidential nominating conventions next year. The Republicans have already chosen Cleveland, after passing over Cincinnati and a number of other cities.

Columbus is not a done deal, not by a long shot. The short list of cities for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) site selection committee includes Philadelphia and New York City.

We will probably know the winner by the end of January or early February.

David Wilhelm of Columbus oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1992. After the election, Clinton named him chairman of the DNC.

These days, Wilhelm is in the renewable energy development business and he heads the steering committee of Columbus2016, the group that has been pushing to win the competition for the 2016 Democratic Convention.

Does he believe Columbus has a realistic shot?

“Yes, I do,’’ Wilhelm said. “They are good poker players at the DNC, but I get the impression that we are definitely in the mix.”

Wilhelm said Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and a delegation from Columbus2016 were in Washington Thursday to meet with the DNC one final time to go over Columbus’ proposal “page by page, detail by detail.”

Earlier last week, Columbus2016 released a three-minute, 17-second video – very slickly produced – that touted Ohio as the most important battleground state in presidential elections past and future.

It spread all over the social media; and Columbus2016 is certain that the DNC site selection committee has seen it. You can click the Facebook link below to see the video:

The video features an almost dizzying array of clips from campaign speeches in Ohio by former President Bill Clinton, President Obama,  Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the 2016 Democratic nomination; Vice President Joe Biden; and even 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

“Ohio, you’re probably going to decide the next president of the United States,’’ Romney tells the crowd at a 2012 rally in Ohio.

But it is Bill and Hillary Clinton who seem to be the most prominently featured politicians on the video.

It is the former president who lays out in plain terms why Ohio is so important in a presidential election.

“All eyes will be on you,’’ the former president says at an Ohio rally, pointing at the crowd, “because people really do believe that if you want to find a place in America that represents everybody and everything, a place with the largest, most geographically distributed group of big cities and a massive agricultural economy and a lot of small towns with every kind of economic activity, you can go to Ohio.”

And the video is chock full of news footage of anchor people and commentators on election nights past talking about how the presidency hinged on Ohio. Interspersed between the video clips are graphic messages about Ohio: “Our political relevance is unrivaled” and “We elected presidents.”

There’s no question that Ohio has been a key battleground state in past presidential elections and will be again in 2016. Then, too, so will Pennsylvania, which is part of the appeal of Philadelphia as the 2016 host city.

Holding a presidential nominating convention in a particular state is no guarantee your party is going to win that state’s electoral vote. In 2012, President Obama was re-nominated at a convention in Charlotte and ended up losing North Carolina, although it was fairly close. Romney was nominated at a convention in Tampa and ended up losing Florida in a squeaker.

Wilhelm said the political significance of Ohio will probably play into the decision by the DNC, especially given the fact that the GOP will be setting up shop in Cleveland next summer.

“The political significance of Ohio matters, but it is not the only thing that matters,’’ Wilhelm said. “If we prove to be competitive on the other things you need to host a convention, the political aspect might push us over the top.”

But you have to have the other pieces in place, Wilhelm said. That includes, first and foremost, a venue that can handle a massive event like a presidential nominating convention that will draw about 40,000 delegates, alternates, party leaders and guests to the host city.

Columbus has that in Nationwide Arena, the home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. And the arena is right next door to the city's convention center, which would make for excellent and convenient work space for the thousands of journalists who will show up from all over the world.

The city and its surrounding suburbs, Wilhelm said, has plenty of hotel space - much of it downtown within walking distance to Nationwide Arena.

"And even if you're not in a downtown hotel, it's probably no more than a 10 or 15 minute bus ride,'' Wilhelm said.

A host committee has to raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million to offer the political party to win a convention. Wilhelm wouldn’t talk specifically about how much money Columbus has raised, “we put a very competitive financial package together.” That financial package included $10 from Gov. John Kasich’s JobsOhio program, which is the same amount JobsOhio committed to the GOP convention in Cleveland.

One of the biggest assets Columbus has, Wilhelm said, is just north of downtown – the sprawling campus of Ohio State University. During the summer, Wilhelm said, there is plenty of available housing at the university for staff and volunteers; and the university has its own fleet of buses to help shuttle people to and from the convention venue.

There is one more intangible that Wilhelm talked about – desire.

“Columbus wants this,’’ Wilhelm said. It is an event that could pump as much as $200 million into the local economy, but Wilhelm said there is a certain amount of pride involved in hosting a national event that the whole world will be watching.

“Being a Buckeye means being proud,’’ Wilhelm said. “This would be an enormous boost for the city and Ohio.”

Soon, Columbus will know if it has bested the two East Coast giants, Philly and the Big Apple, for the prize. In the meantime, they must wait; and know that David has been known to slay Goliath before.