Cleveland is home to one of the most productive integrated steel mills in the world. And soon, it may be home to both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
The once-dubbed mistake on the lake is in the running with cities including Columbus, Dallas, Phoenix, and Philadelphia for either party’s national convention for the 2016 cycle. Cleveland’s newly-built convention center, hotel capacity, and transportation make it a contender — but so does the city’s geographic location.
No presidential candidate has won the highest office without carrying Ohio in the general election since President John F. Kennedy in 1960. And within the state, Cuyahoga County (Cleveland area) is THE key battleground.
Candidates, parties, and PACs spent millions of dollars in Ohio and Cleveland in particular during the 2012 election cycle, according to a report by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG):
Across all markets seeing presidential advertising, Cleveland ranked second-highest for both spending and spot mentions of jobs: $37 million and 33,877, respectively. For anti-Bain (outsourcing) mentions, it ranked second-highest for spending and highest for spots: $4.8 million and 5,676. On trade, it ranked second-highest for spending and highest for spots: $5.8 million and 5,138. And on China trade, it ranked highest for both spending and spots: $4.6 million and 4,722.
The parties may just be playing politics, but Cleveland is a city built on manufacturing. Here at the Alliance for American Manufacturing, we think both parties should adopt Cleveland as their home in 2016 — and focus on creating and supporting well-paying middle class jobs.