The Republican National Convention is just around the corner! For those new to following politics or the junkies who just like to read anything and everything about politics and election season, this primer is for you!
Where is the 2016 RNC being held?
Cleveland, Ohio in the Quicken Loans Arena, Freedom Plaza, Progressive Field and Media Row. The RNC will run from July 18-21. Fun fact: this is the 4th time for the Buckeye State to host the RNC; Cincinnati hosted the 1876 RNC, and Cleveland hosted it in 1924 and 1936.
How frequently is the RNC held?
In conjunction with presidential election seasons, the RNC (and DNC alike) are held every four years. The 2012 RNC was held in Tampa, FL and the 2020 RNC location is yet to be chosen.
How is the RNC host city chosen?
The process occurs as early as 18 months-2 years out from the actual event. In this case, Cleveland was chosen in July 2014 as the host site for the 2016 RNC, beating out cities like Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Kansas City, and Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a tremendous honor for a city to be chosen to host the RNC, not only for the media attention, but the event itself brings in upwards of $400 million to the local economy, boosting everything from the hospitality and travel industry to restaurants and retail.
Additionally, the state of Ohio has proven to be a critical swing-state to win in elections past; it was a strategic move to select a city in Ohio for this RNC. By moving it up earlier than past Conventions, which typically occur in August or September, this has also allowed the Republican Party access to much-needed funding for earlier campaigning in Ohio, and has provided a loophole around the Federal Election Commission spending restriction on campaigns.
What happens at the RNC?
The purpose of the RNC is to officially elect a nominee for the Republican Party in the electoral race for The President of the United States as well as Vice President of the United States. This year’s presumptive presidential nominee is, of course, Donald Trump. The VP nominee is still a mystery and establishing the VP candidate to run on Trump’s ticket is a highly anticipated agenda item for the 2016 RNC.
Delegates in attendance must cast their vote in favor of or against Trump, and Trump must receive half of the total votes plus one in favor of his nomination to officially assume the role of Republican nominee for POTUS. In addition, ground rules for the party are set for the general election season and campaign, as well as the party’s platform (principal goals to focus on when appealing to the public for their vote this fall).
Who attends the RNC?
GOP delegates, media and guests all attend this convention, with guests accounting for the majority of attendees at approximately 50,000 people. Media contributes another 15,000 or more people, and there will be approximately 2,472 delegates and another 2,300 alternate delegates at the RNC.
What’s new and exciting at this year’s RNC?
This year’s convention has its very own smartphone app, “The RNC 2016: Official App,” already available in the Apple Store or Google Play stores. It will be the best way to keep up with what’s happening this year for delegates, guests and press alike, and the app boasts some innovative features that might even make your democratic friends a little jealous:
- 360-degree camera shots so you can get an exclusive look into the venues
- Live streaming so you can see all of the Convention’s proceedings from gavel-to-gavel
- Maps – not just your typical mapping system, this will show the hundreds of vendors surrounding the Convention as well as turn-by-turn directions to get you where you need to go among the venues
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(Information Sources: http://convention.gop/ , http://2016.republican-convention.org/)
