Shining a light on Milwaukee

Lasry, Priebus talk about the importance RNC, DNC conventions have on the city

Two men integral in Milwaukee’s hosting of the 2020 Democratic National Convention and 2024 Republican National Convention joined on stage Tuesday to talk about the importance of Milwaukee landing both of these huge events.

“It’s about promoting Milwaukee. It’s about promoting Wisconsin,” said MKE 2024 Host Committee Chair Reince Priebus during a luncheon hosted by WisPolitics in Washington D.C.

Priebus pointed to an estimated 50,000 visitors to the city in Milwaukee next July during the convention and an anticipated $200 million impact they bring that will benefit businesses throughout the region during the run of the event.

“You have 56 delegations doing 56 activities all day long,” he added.

While 2020’s Democratic National Convention was stripped down considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 Host Committee Finance Chair Alex Lasry said its events like these that create momentum for a city like Milwaukee.

“The first reason we made the pitch was to make sure everyone saw Milwaukee,” he said. “… it shows the world that Milwaukee can compete for these kinds of conventions.”

Lasry pointed to former host cities Denver and Charlotte as examples of metros that flourished after hosting political conventions.

“The better time people have in Milwaukee, the better we can advocate for more revenue, the better we can advocate for the policies that we’re putting forth to help grow the city,” he said. “More people coming and saying ‘Wow, Milwaukee’s awesome’ then this is a place we can grow and people will want to invest.”
Despite his role being a non-partisan one as chair of the host committee, Priebus said it takes a bipartisan effort to make sure conventions like these have a home in large cities – most of which are run by Democratic leadership. He singled out Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s efforts to sell the city and a 13-0 vote by the Milwaukee Common Council to pass an agreement to host as focal points in the decision.
“It moved the RNC a ton,” he said.

He also said, despite the 2020 DNC disruption to due to the pandemic, Milwaukee’s successful bid for that event played a role in its future success.

“That work to get the Democratic National Convention to Milwaukee is all part of the same story to get us here and beyond in Milwaukee,” he said.