RNC Snubs New York

WASHINGTON — Sorry, New York, but Republicans will hold their 2008 presidential convention in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, choosing a location in the politically pivotal Midwest.

["I wish Minneapolis well, but it's a loss for our city," a New York State Senator, Martin Golden, told The New York Sun yesterday after hearing the news. "We did a good job last time and we would have done a good job again," Mr. Golden, a Republican, said.

Party and state officials announced the selection yesterday. The convention is slated for September 1-4, 2008.

A Democratic council member of Queens, Joseph Addabbo Jr., told The New York Sun he was disappointed that the city did not win the GOP convention. "I'll fight tooth and nail for a convention," he said, adding that it did not matter what party it was for. New York, he said, should get its fair share of Democrat and Republican conventions.

The mayor's office declined to comment on the party's decision.]

Back in the Midwest, Minnesota's Republican Governor Pawlenty said, "This is fantastic news. We're very, very pleased."

Also losing out were 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.

Democrats also had been considering holding their convention in the Twin Cities but the Republican announcement left Democrats with two competing cities to choose from — New York and Denver.

By picking the Twin Cities for 2008, the GOP will ensure plenty of news coverage 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.

"The heartland of America," said Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican from Minnesota. "Whoever wins those states is going to be the next president of the United States."

Minnesota had been seen by some as an unlikely host, with just 10 electoral votes and the nation's longest streak of voting for Democratic presidential candidates.

Minnesota's political landscape, however, has shifted right in recent years. It has become less of a Democratic bastion and more of a swing-voting state.

The state was a hard-fought battleground in the 2004 and 2000 presidential elections, and in 2002, Minnesota elected Pawlenty, a Republican, as governor and Coleman as senator.

With the convention, the GOP hopes to court voters in a region Republican and Democratic strategists alike say will play a critical role in winning the White House in 2008.

[New York is still a contender to host the Democrats, who plan to hold their convention August 25-28, and will announce a location later this fall.]