What's different this year, is how closely one convention followed the other. It always used to be one party would go in July, and the other in August.

Usually they air back to back, but in August/September.


This year the Olympics air later, so the networks wanted to get the conventions out of the way earlier, before Football season.

In 2008 here were the dates:
DNC - 8/25-8/28
RNC - 9/2-9/4

In 2012 here were the dates:
RNC - 8/28-8/30
DNC - 9/4-9/6

Superstorm Sandy dampened the RNC last time.

The 2012 Democratic Convention was held September 3-6 - a week after the Republican Convention, which took place August 27-30.

For many many cycles the conventions were always in July and August, but things have been changed up some over the last few, I guess. I did not remember the scheduling of the last couple.

The party in the White House has the later convention. So Republicans went second in 2008 but we were second in 2012 and this year. Hopefully we will have the 2nd convention in 2020 as well.