Four cities made bids to the Republican National Committee ( RNC ) for proposals to host the 2008 Convention . Those cities were Cleveland , Ohio , Minneapolis-Saint Paul , Minnesota , New York City , New York , and Tampa-St . Petersburg , Florida . The RNC Selection Committee made its recommendation for Minneapolis-Saint Paul and on September 27 , 2006 , the RNC made its decision public that the 2008 Republican National Convention would be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul . The RNC made their decision earlier than originally scheduled because the Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) also had Minneapolis-Saint Paul as a finalist among bidding cities . ( After the RNC 's selection , the DNC removed Minneapolis-Saint Paul from consideration which left the DNC with only two cities to choose from : New York City and Denver , Colorado . ) This is the second time the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area held the Republican National Convention — the first was held in 1892
the first
1892 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention