Democrats are closing in on a final decision on where to hold their 2016 national convention.

For the party, New York would offer a diverse setting in liberal Brooklyn and a touch of Clinton nostalgia.

Philadelphia would give the party a patriotic backdrop. Columbus would raise the curtain on another campaign showdown in Ohio.

Party officials are expected to make a final decision in late January or early February.

The site could be the place where President Barack Obama passes the baton to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the leading Democratic contender should she run for president again.

Democrats will need to decide whether to stage it in a big city or in another battleground state. Obama was formally nominated in Denver in 2008 and Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2012.

(AP)