The rationale, according to Delaware’s top public and private boosters, is that it’s small but also diverse, it has a revitalized riverfront to host events and its media market crosses into several other states including Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey. They also note, repeatedly, that it’s just a two-hour Amtrak ride from Washington.

In Delaware’s own pitch video to the DNC, state Sen. SARAH MCBRIDE made several references to Biden himself and the Amtrak rides he took to and from D.C. for decades. She closed with a quote from the president calling Delaware a “true microcosm of America.”

McBride joked that Delaware is also known as the First State, though “we’d be cool with second, or third or even fourth.” At a June DNC meeting, Delaware Sen. CHRIS COONS was on hand to make the hard sell, along with the state’s governor, JOHN CARNEY.