Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine rallied with young party loyalists in Charlotte on Friday but remained mum about the city's odds of winning the 2012 national convention.
Kaine, the former governor of Virginia, did tell reporters that party officials who toured Charlotte earlier this week were "very impressed."
He said technical advisers will give him a report in the fall and the party would make a decision about 60 days after November's election.
Party leaders recently made Charlotte a finalist for the convention along with St. Louis, Minneapolis and Cleveland. A team of technical advisers visited Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday to assess whether the city has the size, hotel rooms, facilities and other amenities needed to host the party's largest event.
When asked to handicap Charlotte's chances, Kaine declined to answer.
But he did note the tenacity of city leaders, who he said started lobbying him for the convention even before he became DNC chairman in early 2009.
As national committee chair, Kaine works as the top political messenger for President Barack Obama. He won the post after helping Obama win Virginia in 2008 - the first time a Democratic presidential candidate did so in 50 years.
He spoke at the College Democrats of America National Conventional at UNC Charlotte, where roughly 200 people attended a luncheon.
An enthusiastic crowd of college students from around the country greeted him, chanting "Tim K, Tim K" before he took the stage.
Kaine, 52, spoke about the administration's accomplishments and the need to turn out young and minority voters during this fall's midterm elections.
He said only about 30 percent of the 15 million first-time voters who came to polls in 2008 are predicted to vote again this year - a troubling sign for Democrats who successfully courted those voters two years ago.
But 2012 was on the minds of many in attendance.
Some wore buttons that read Charlotte 2012. When Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx came to the stage, many held signs that said Charlotte 2012.
"Welcome to Charlotte. I want to see you back here in 2012," Foxx said as he closed his remarks.
Foxx and Kaine said they spoke about the national convention.
"Coming to see him today was coincidental," Foxx said. "We're going to keep getting in front of the people who make the decision."
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