Charlotte, North Carolina has been approved by the Charlotte City Council and by a panel of Republican National Committee members as the host city for the 2020 Republican National Convention. This is a great choice.
Logistically speaking, most major cities should tie for consideration. Just about all of them have a large arena or convention center, plenty of hotel rooms, and an airport and other transportation hubs. So political parties need to look at election advantages when considering a convention site. Having a convention should bolster turnout and help put a state in that party’s electoral total. While that is not always the case, it certainly can help.
The largest city in North Carolina is an important location and should help keep the Tar Heel state in the Red column. North Carolina voted for the Republican candidate in the last two presidential elections, but voted Democrat by a slim margin in 2008. Each of those elections saw the winning margin of around 2% or less, giving North Carolina a “toss-up” label by many political pundits and election forecasters.
The other city which was considered to be a finalist to host the 2020 convention was Las Vegas. That would have been a poor choice. Logistically it has it all, but as far as messaging goes Sin City would have hurt the Republican brand. Democrats could have come up with all sorts of false accusations about money, greed, and sex that would hurt the president and other down ballot Republican candidates. And when the president is a billionaire who owns businesses and property in Vegas, then who knows how well those potential false claims would have stuck. No need for a self-inflicted wound. Charlotte is a much safer choice.
On Monday Charlotte’s City Council approved the measure and today the RNC site selection panel also approved Charlotte as the host city for 2020. The full RNC leadership will have to vote on this for it to receive official and final approval, which should happen this Friday at the RNC Summer Meeting.
Republicans expect to re-nominate President Donald Trump in 2020. There are some quiet rumblings that moderate Republicans may mount a nomination challenge but those rumors should be ignored, at least for now. President Trump is doing a fine job. He nominated Neil Gorsuch and worked to get him confirmed by the Senate, which is enough for this author to support Trump’s re-nomination without contest.
Charlotte is close enough for a lot of Virginian politicos to drive down for the big event. It’s a great choice! This blog urges the RNC Virginia delegation to vote in favor of Charlotte, North Carolina for 2020.
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