Updated: 11:38 a.m.

Democrats announced today that the 2012 Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, N.C.

Charlotte got the nod over St. Louis, the other finalist to hold the party’s next convention. The Democratic convention was held in Denver in 2008.

Republicans announced in May that they will hold their 2012 convention in Tampa, Fla., the week of Aug. 27. Obama also won Florida in 2008. Democrats will hold theirs the week of Sept. 3.

“Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an ‘up by the bootstraps’ mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South,” first lady Michelle Obama said in an e-mail to Organizing for America supporters. “And of course, great barbecue.”

President Barack Obama won North Carolina and neighboring Virginia in the 2008 election, and Democrats hope to keep both states in their column next year. North Carolina had backed Republican presidential nominees since 1976.

In an e-mail to DNC members, Chairman Tim Kaine said he looks forward to gathering in Charlotte next year to renominate Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden “and to help propel them to victory in November 2012.”