{"id":366,"date":"2020-06-11T16:54:18","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T20:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/?p=366"},"modified":"2020-06-29T10:49:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T14:49:29","slug":"charlottes-rnc-can-now-fit-inside-one-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfae.report\/insidepolitics\/charlottes-rnc-can-now-fit-inside-one-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlotte’s RNC Can Now Fit Inside One Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Could the entire RNC in Charlotte fit inside one hotel? CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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When President Trump said he wanted to move the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, the mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, Lenny Curry, was the first to raise his hand.<\/p>\n

He told the GOP he wanted his city to host.<\/p>\n

And now it appears Curry will get his wish.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Washington Post<\/a> reported late Tuesday night that Republican National Committee officials have settled on Jacksonville as the site for the glamorous parts of the convention, including the president\u2019s acceptance speech.<\/p>\n

The RNC said on Wednesday that other cities are still under consideration. But then RNC chair Ronna McDaniel spoke on Hugh Hewitt\u2019s radio show<\/a> Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

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RNC chair Ronna McDaniel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFirst of all we are going to keep the business side of the convention in Charlotte,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is for sure. It\u2019s going to be smaller and scaled-down. And we are looking for a different city for a celebration. There\u2019s a couple of more things we need to do before we can announce that, but Jacksonville is absolutely in the front running position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hewitt then asked her if the RNC competition is a horse race, is Jacksonville \u201cway ahead and rounding the third turn?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I want to say that because there are so many cities that have come forward \u2013 Nashville (Tennessee), Savannah (Georgia), Phoenix, I don\u2019t want to say that yet,\u201d she said. \u201cBut Jacksonville has a lot of the things we like and is in a very good position.\u201d<\/p>\n

And on Wednesday night, the executive committee of the Republican National Committee formally voted<\/a> to move the president\u2019s acceptance speech out of Charlotte. It also voted to only bring 336 delegates to Charlotte for what McDaniel calls the \u201cbusiness side\u201d of the convention.<\/p>\n

There were more than 2,400 delegates at the 2016 RNC in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

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More than one hotel might not be needed for the scaled-down Charlotte RNC. CREDIT: Hilton Charlotte City Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The GOP says it\u2019s leaving Charlotte because North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper won\u2019t guarantee the RNC the ability to have a fully packed Spectrum Center.<\/p>\n

Republicans say it\u2019s politics. The governor says it\u2019s the pandemic.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post story \u2013 and McDaniel\u2019s comments \u2013 led the city of Charlotte on Wednesday to issue what is, for the city, a relatively stern statement.<\/p>\n

The city referenced the RNC\u2019s apparent \u201cunilateral\u201d decision to move and that it wants an \u201cimmediate discussion\u201d about what the GOP\u2019s plans are.<\/p>\n

Charlotte\u2019s host committee – the group in charge of raising $70 million to hold the convention \u2013 also issued a forceful statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision is in clear violation of the agreements made with the city of Charlotte, the county of Mecklenburg, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and the Charlotte Host Committee,\u201d the committee said.<\/p>\n

So, Why Jacksonville?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One reason is politics \u2013 local politics.<\/p>\n

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a Republican, and he\u2019s championed bringing the RNC to Florida.<\/p>\n

But the biggest factor is that Jacksonville\u2019s mayor, Curry, is a Republican, and the City Council has a Republican majority.<\/p>\n

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Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s important because so many of those other cities McDaniel mentioned are blue and led by Democrats, like Nashville.<\/p>\n

McDaniel said Music City had come forward, but that was really Tennessee\u2019s Republican governor, Bill Lee. The Nashville mayor said the city wasn\u2019t interested.<\/p>\n

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said he wanted to host. But Atlanta\u2019s Democratic mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, said she wasn\u2019t interested, so the RNC visited Savannah.<\/p>\n

Savannah only has 400,000 people in the metro area, and the RNC would have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get worldwide media exposure.<\/p>\n

But the city\u2019s Democratic mayor, Van Johnson, wasn\u2019t enthusiastic.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it would be a huge economic shot in the arm at a time when we need it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think any amount of money is worth jeopardizing the safety of our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The RNC is still officially looking. Officials were in Phoenix earlier this week, and they are supposed to be in Dallas soon.<\/p>\n

There are questions as to whether Jacksonville has enough hotel rooms \u2013 people had to stay on cruise ships for the 2005 Super Bowl \u2013 but the city has something it never had with Charlotte: enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

And Florida is a state that\u2019s much farther along in reopening than North Carolina. Universal Studios has already opened and Walt Disney World plans to open soon.<\/p>\n

What Kind Of Convention Will Charlotte Have?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t look like much.<\/p>\n

The RNC\u2019s Wednesday vote suggests the GOP plans to arrive in Charlotte, conduct a little bit of business, and then quickly leave.<\/p>\n

With only 336 delegates coming, it\u2019s possible the entire convention could fit in one hotel, like 700-room Westin. The GOP wouldn\u2019t need the Spectrum Center. It wouldn\u2019t need the Convention Center. And it probably wouldn\u2019t need a number of venues like the Mint Museum for parties.<\/p>\n

The RNC said its party platform committee won\u2019t meet, and the GOP will use the 2016 platform that was adopted in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

It also said those 336 delegates will be invited to the president\u2019s acceptance speech, too, so it\u2019s possible that for the final night of the convention, the GOP won\u2019t have anyone left in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

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