Dems deny DNC site announcement coming next week

Democrats are denying a report that they are on the verge of announcing the site of their 2016 national convention and that they have eliminated some cities from contention.

{mosads}”All five cities are still in the running and we will not announce our city selection next week,” said Lily Adams, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Earlier on Friday, Capital New York reported that the location of the event would be announced next week. They also reported that Brooklyn, N.Y., Columbus, Ohio, and Philadelphia had emerged as front runners in the competition to hold the convention. Birmingham, Ala. and Phoenix are also bidding for the event.

Republicans have already chosen to hold their convention in Cleveland — which also bid for the Democratic convention. Republicans chose the Ohio city over Dallas

The nominating conventions are a chance for parties to introduce their presidential candidates to the country on a wide scale. They also have an added significance in the era of billion-dollar White House runs: after the convention, candidates are able to raise money for the general election.

Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus has said that he expects to hold the convention in either June or July, rather than August or September, because of the general election fundraising restrictions.

In 2012, the Democrats held their convention in Charlotte, N.C., and Republicans held theirs in Tampa, Fla.

This post was updated at 4:43 p.m.