Jacksonville is front-runner for Trump convention speech
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jacksonville, Fla., is the front-runner to host the GOP celebration marking President Trump’s acceptance of his party’s nomination to run for reelection, the Republican National Committee chairwoman said Wednesday.
Ronna McDaniel said reports of a final decision were “definitely premature.” But she made clear that Jacksonville is the favorite now that Charlotte, N.C., the official host of this summer’s Republican National Convention, has balked at promising Trump a full-blown convention free from social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s a couple more things we need to do before we can announce that, but Jacksonville is absolutely in the front-running position,” she said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
But several Republicans familiar with the negotiations stressed that no final decision had yet been made. “Several cities are still being considered,” said Emma Vaughn, a Florida-based spokesperson for the RNC. She said that convention officials were touring Phoenix; Savannah, Ga.; Dallas; and Jacksonville this week and “have been in conversations with several other potential locations.”
Nonetheless, there were indications that plans were moving forward in Jacksonville. Hotel rooms have been blocked off for late August — a week after the state’s Aug. 18 primary — intensifying speculation.
The RNC has spent the last week scouting locations after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, rejected Trump’s demand that the convention be allowed to take place Aug. 24-27 without social distancing measures.
Trump says he will hold a campaign rally on June 19 in Tulsa, Okla.
“The governor doesn’t want to give an inch, and what he’s doing is losing hundreds of millions of dollars for his state,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House. He told reporters that many states have volunteered to host, including Texas, Georgia and Florida. “I think we’re going to probably end up giving you an announcement pretty soon.”
Cooper has stressed his desire to keep residents in his state safe from the coronavirus. His press secretary, Dory MacMillan, said Wednesday that North Carolina officials have been “willing to work together with the RNC on a scaled-down event with health and safety measures, but it wouldn’t be responsible to guarantee a full arena as the RNC has demanded.”
The Jacksonville area, home to a major military base, has a population of about 1.5 million. Mayor Len Curry is a former chairperson of the state Republican Party, and the area is the home base of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a key Trump ally.
Trump has made clear that he no longer intends to hold the convention’s marquee event, his acceptance speech, in Charlotte. The RNC voted Wednesday night to allow the party’s more mundane business, including discussions over the platform, to be held in Charlotte because of contractual obligations. The RNC also approved rule procedures to allow delegates to cast their vote by proxy.
Seniors are the country’s most reliable voters. A shift away from Trump in key states like Arizona could cost the president reelection.
That celebration could generate at least $100 million in revenues for the host city, perhaps more.
Florida’s prize of 29 electoral votes is considered crucial to Trump’s bid for a second term, which could factor into the party’s calculations.
Charlotte officials on Wednesday said that despite public comments from Trump and GOP officials, they had not been officially informed of any intent to move any part of the convention.
“Charlotte remains willing to work in good faith to complete its contractual obligations under the terms of the two convention agreements,” a city spokesperson, Cory Burkarth, said in a statement.
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