The Democratic National Committee announced Friday that the party’s 2016 presidential nominating convention will be held the week of July 25, 2016, though the location has not yet been announced.

“This is the next step to finalize where and when we will nominate the 45th President of the United States, highlight the Democratic Party’s agenda of fighting for expanded opportunity and contrast it with the Republican Party’s commitment to the fortunate few,” said DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “We are still in discussions with three excellent cities and are looking forward to a diverse and inclusive convention that displays our party’s values.”

The GOP plans to host its convention from July 18 to 21 in Cleveland, Ohio. Democrats had been debating whether to hold their convention immediately after Republican event, or wait until August after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

But ultimately Democrats felt it would be better to respond immediately to the Republican convention, rather than let several weeks pass. Presidential candidates typically get a small bump in their polling numbers from the multi-party showcase, so Democrats hope to blunt any Republican bonus and leave their own candidate riding high while heading into the fall. An earlier convention also allows presidential candidates to tap into campaign money reserved for the general election earlier.
The party have yet to choose, however, which city will host the convention. They are still considering three cities — New York, Philadelphia, and Columbus, Ohio. Democrats say all three cities have a good shot and are still actively negotiating final contracts with the DNC ahead of a final decision, which likely to come in February before the DNC’s Winter Meeting.