The Democratic National Committee has named Charlotte one of four finalist to host the 2012 national convention.

Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Louis also made the list.

All four cities are in battleground states: Republican John McCain narrowly carried Missouri in 2008 while Barack Obama squeaked by in North Carolina and won Ohio and Minnesota. North Carolina also elected a Democratic governor, Bev Perdue, and a Democratic U.S. senator, Kay Hagan.

City officials on Tuesday said hosting the event could generate $150 to $200 million in economic impact for the region. It also would attract tens of thousands of convention delegates, politicians, visitors and reporters.

Charlotte’s DNC 2012 Host Committee is co-chaired by Mayor Anthony Foxx and Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers.

“The Democratic Party could do no better than to select Charlotte as the site for its 2012 Democratic National Convention,” Rogers said in a prepared statement. “Charlotte’s convention and cultural facilities are excellent. We stand ready to work with party officials to make the 2012 convention one of the most productive and exciting conventions in the party’s history.”

Foxx said hosting the DNC would “put our city, our region and our state on an international stage.”

“Working with a dedicated, bi-partisan team of public and private partners,” he said, “Charlotte is well positioned to land this convention.”

But in an interview with the Charlotte Observer, Charlie Cook, editor of the Washington-based Cook Political Report, said the city's inexperience at hosting such a big event makes Charlotte a long shot.

“I’d be astonished if Charlotte were picked,” he was quoted as saying. "...Not gonna happen."

Foxx said the city would need to raise about $45 million to meet DNC requirements. Some of the money, he said, would be used to make improvements at Time Warner Cable Arena.

“When and if Charlotte gets the bid, fundraising will not only be local and regional, it’ll be national,” he told the Observer.

The DNC will announce the 2012 host city by the end of the year.

Read more at CharlotteObserver.com.

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