Delegates spend thousands to go to the Democratic National Convention

Public school teacher Lindsey Tibke is one of 111 Washington state delegates to this year’s Democratic National Convention. She says she ran to protect her rights and bring knowledge about the convention process back to her district.

Tibke’s local party told potential delegates to budget around $5,000 for the trip — a cost that nearly discouraged her from running altogether. “It was something that I didn’t realize was a barrier for people wanting to get involved,” she said.

An estimated 50,000 people will convene in Chicago this week for the DNC, including party leaders, delegates, staffers, celebrity speakers, guests, journalists, content creators, volunteers and protestors. The four-day event is expected to generate millions for the local economy.

But for the nearly 4,500 delegates, who are elected by state or local party members to nominate a Democratic candidate and adopt a platform, the trip isn’t free.

Take hotel rooms: Each delegation has reserved hotel room blocks for the five-night stay. Tibke said Washington’s rooms cost each delegate $349 a night, for five nights, before tax. 

Other costs include flights and meals. And since delegates aren’t paid to attend, some may lose five days’ worth of wages. Local parties estimated each delegate will spend between $2,000 and $5,000 in all, according to their websites.

The last national convention, in 2020, was conducted virtually. One study showed Democratic delegates were “generally satisfied” with the digital format. So why spend all that cash to be in person?

When executed well, conventions serve as “pep rallies” that unite the party and introduce the presidential candidate to a wide audience, said John Jackson, a political science professor at Southern Illinois University and co-author of the 2020 survey.

In 2015, Jackson published longitudinal research that spanned from 1972 to 2008 — ten elections — assessing DNC and RNC delegate opinions. He said in-person conventions facilitate coalition-building that can be critical to campaign success.

“Being there in the hall, it’s a really unique atmosphere,” he said. “It’s like a huge football game crowd in a dome stadium, and it has some of that sports enthusiasm and it was a loss not to be able to do that, for both parties, in 2020.”

Ben Anderson, Utah’s youngest DNC delegate, said he’s most looking forward to meeting other passionate, excited party members at this year’s convention. After seeing the pre-planning stage for the delegate selection process as communications director for the Utah Democratic Party, he was inspired to run.

“It’s going to be really great to gather together and really celebrate our shared values and get ready for the general election,” said Anderson, who’s now a political consultant for statewide campaigns.

Despite his strong party ties, Anderson said he considered not running for delegate because of the cost barrier. Donations from friends and family members, as well as a scholarship from his local Young Democrats chapter, made the trip possible.

Lindsey Tibke, the teacher from Washington, also found a way to Chicago. Like many delegates, she set up a GoFundMe, which raised almost $2,000. (In 2016, DNC and RNC delegates crowdfunded roughly $385,000 through the platform.)

The National Education Association, Tibke’s union, covered her travel costs to and from the convention. She also received a $500 scholarship from an anonymous donor through the Washington State Democratic Party. In all, she expects to spend around $500 out of pocket.

“Because I found a way to make them work, the costs are absolutely going to be worth it,” she said. “This is going to be a really important and historic election, and I feel just really privileged to be a part of it.”

But she knows not everyone is so lucky.

“Democracy works best when more people are involved, and I want more people to be involved,” she said. “(The cost of being a delegate) is something that we need to have a conversation about.”

John Jackson won’t be making it up to Chicago for this year’s convention. But he was a delegate to the 1980 DNC. He said the $1,000 he spent to make the trip, meet other Democrats, and nominate President Jimmy Carter for reelection was “a very good investment.”