St Paul to host GOP convention in 2008

I think the headline speaks for itself, but here is the story:

Republicans have chosen the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul _ in the politically pivotal Midwest _ for the 2008 presidential convention, GOP officials said Wednesday.

The selection was expected to be announced later in the day, said the Republican officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The convention is slated for Sept. 1-4.

Losing out were New York City, Cleveland and a joint bid from Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla., other cities that had sought the convention.

The four-day event will be held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., home of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild.

By choosing the Twin Cities for 2008, the GOP will ensure plenty of news converge in media markets in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa _ all battleground states in the 2004 election and ones expected to be competitive in the next presidential race.

I think this was the fairly obvious choice. The only other one was maybe the Mistake on the Lake (aka Cleveland) which would have given a lot of attention to another important segment of the 2008 electoral scene.

The Twin Cities, located along the Mississippi River, also are in the running for the 2008 Democratic convention. Democrats plan to hold their convention Aug. 25-28.

The Democrats, who last met in Boston, will announce a decision later this fall. A spokesman said 11 sites expressed interest in having the party's convention, but only four completed the proposals. New Orleans later withdrew its bid, leaving Denver, New York City and Minneapolis- St. Paul.
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In Minnesota, the effort to woo a national political convention has been a bipartisan affair, with the two big-city mayors, both Democrats, joining forces with top Republicans. They argued that Minnesota is a critical part of an Upper Midwest region that combined offers 27 electoral votes.

I think the real decision for the DNC is do they want to be in Minneapolis to help neutralize the GOP advantage in the midwest or do they want to go elsewhere since the GOP is scheduled AFTER the DNC and that likely will give the GOP an advantage if both are in the same city.

State officials have predicted a national political convention would boost the Twin Cities economy by about $150 million.

So, what are the odds of a tax cut since there will be an extra $150 million? Given the candidates for this year's gubernatorial race I would say the chances are ZERO.