Water taxis and a Fenway tour: Mass. Democrats woo DNC officials in bid to host 2028 party convention

A flock of state Democratic Party staffers and Democratic National Committee leaders pulled up to a press conference Monday laying out Boston’s pitch to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention in a distinctly Boston style: fresh from a water taxi and a meal at an upscale East Boston seafood restaurant.

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Beyond selling the city as one capable of handling the logistically complicated event, Massachusetts Democratic officialsare turning to good, old-fashioned schmoozing to sway the DNC officials who will select the next host city in the coming months.

On tap overtwo days: dinner at Contessa, the swanky Italian rooftop restaurant on Newbury Street; a trip to View Boston, the observation deck located atop the Prudential Tower;and a tour of Fenway Park.

DNC officials will also attend a receptionat the Boston Public Library’s Copley branch headlined by Governor Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu, and have drinks at nearby J.J. Foley’s, according to a copy of the itinerary obtained by the Globe.

In other words, they’re rolling out the ”blue carpet,” as DNC Chair Ken Martin put it Monday.

Boston is the last stop on the DNC’s tour of the five finalist cities. Party officials have already swung through Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, and Philadelphia in recent weeks, and local party officials and tourism leaders hereare looking to convince the delegation they saved “the best for last,” said Martha Sheridan, president and chief executive of Meet Boston.

The state Democratic leaders who gathered at TD Garden for Monday’s news conference pitched Boston as a city with a rich history, deep Democratic roots, and a track record of successfully putting on large and logistically complicated events, such as the annual Boston Marathon.

Plus, Boston has a brand-new waterfront neighborhood and twice the hotel capacity it had the last time it hosted thousands of Democratic delegates in 2004.

“What better way to honor the history of our country than a celebration of our democratic process and civic engagement in the place where it all began?” Healey saidMonday.

Added Wu “This is the place where people come with the big ideas to make history.”

The city and state will face something of an audition this summer, amid the swirl of events. The state is gearing up to welcome a flood tourists for FIFA World Cup matches, celebrations honoring the anniversary of the American Revolution and the arrival of a fleet of tall ships in Boston Harbor.

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Some of the planning and fundraising for those events, particularly the World Cup, has been bumpy with fundraising troubles. Philadelphia, in particular, appears far more prepared to host matches than Boston and Foxborough, the Globe found.

But Steve Kerrigan, the state Democratic Party chair, brushed off the idea that the convention, should Boston be selected, might meet the same fate.

“We wish them all incredible success, and hope that those events go off without a hitch. But our job is to prove ourselves to the DNC, and not worry about how somebody else is going to execute a different [event],” Kerrigan said.

One potential strike against Boston: its reputation as a hub of liberal elites tucked inside deep-blue Massachusetts. The DNC is also weighing bids from cities in battleground states such as Georgia and Pennsylvania that could offer the party a clearer political advantage heading into 2028.

But the city holds up well on some big questions DNC officials are looking to address, Kerrigan said — whether its has the infrastructure and if officials can raise the money to host a well-run convention.

Local donors raised more than $100,000 for the DNC at a Sunday evening fund-raiser in Weston, according to a person with knowledge of the event.

If selected, it would be Boston’s first time hosting the convention since 2004, when then-Massachusetts Senator John Kerry accepted the party’s presidential nomination.

The 2004 convention wasn’t without challenges, either. After trash barrels were removed from downtown streets amid post-9/11 security concerns, litter spilled onto the streets, the Globe previously reported, and some protestors were arrested for burning a flag and a two-faced effigy depicting President George W. Bush and Kerry outside the convention.

It’s unclear when the DNC will announce its decision. The DNC delegation visiting Boston will return home Wednesday, Kerrigan said.

“At some point,” he said, “either white smoke or black smoke will come out of the DNC chimney.”

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