State GOP sure on Trump, not so on event’s location
ARKADELPHIA — Arkansas Republicans elected delegates Saturday to attend this year’s Republican National Convention.
While the party’s standard-bearer is apparent, the location of the convention remains in limbo, Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Doyle Webb said.
“I’m not certain today whether we’ll be in Charlotte, whether we’ll be Georgia, whether we’ll be in Florida, whether we’ll be in Texas, but I know that, wherever we go, we’re going to nominate Donald J. Trump,” Webb told party activists who had gathered at an Arkadelphia area recreation center. They sat 6 feet apart, and Webb had a mask with him.
In July 2018, Charlotte, N.C., was selected as the site of this year’s presidential nominating convention.
But the covid-19 pandemic has led to restrictions on large group gatherings in the Tarheel State.
On Monday, Trump threatened to move the convention to another site unless North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, allows the convention space to be “fully occupied.”
The event is scheduled for Aug. 24-27.
Asked in an interview about the uncertainty, Webb said: “There are negotiations going on now, and we should
know something in the next week.”
Webb, who serves as general counsel to the Republican National Committee, envisions a gathering that is large but also health-conscious.
“We want a good convention, and we want a good crowd,” he said.
“We want to make sure people feel good and feel safe about the virus, but we want a full arena,” he said.
Both of those objectives can be achieved, Webb said.
“You would test everyone that came into the arena. Make sure that no one has the virus, and if someone did have the virus, they would not be permitted into the arena,” he said.
Asked whether someone testing negative could still be carrying the virus, Webb said: “Well, you could but we would attempt to use the same testing as they use at the White House. A very high level testing.”
With August rapidly approaching, there isn’t a lot of time left to deal with these matters, he said.
“We’re at the point that those decisions have to be made,” he said.
Regardless of the location, Arkansas is entitled to send 40 delegates.
Under Arkansas party rules, three delegates are elected from each of the state’s four congressional districts. Twenty-five will be picked on June 20 at a special meeting of the Arkansas Republican State Committee in Hot Springs.
Webb and two others automatically serve as delegates because of their leadership positions.
All are pledged to Trump, who won the party’s March 3 presidential primary, with 97.1% of the vote.
Of the candidates in Arkadelphia on Saturday, the three winners were Clark County Republican Party Chairman Eddie Arnold of Arkadelphia, 4th District party chairwoman Sharon Wright of Hope and J.D. McGehee of Hot Springs.
Arnold and McGehee were Trump delegates at the 2016 convention in Cleveland, and Wright was a 2016 Republican elector, casting one of the state’s six electoral votes for Trump.
McGehee also serves as district director to 4th District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs.
Addressing the crowd, Westerman predicted that 2020 will be a good year for Republican candidates as well as the American people.
“This country is not just going to be great now, but it’s going to be greater next year, and it’s going to be greater 10 years from now, as long as we uphold the traditions and the values that made it what it is today,” he said.
Conventions were also held Saturday in Heber Springs and in Springdale. Central Arkansas Republicans gathered in Little Rock on May 23.
Delegates selected in Heber Springs were Richard Caster of Mountain Home, Darren Waddles of Mountain View and Julie Feil of Heber Springs.
Delegates chosen in Springdale were Benton County Republican Party Chairman Scott Brownell, Susan Gessler of Fayetteville and Kelly Procter-Pierce of Fort Smith.
Delegates picked in Little Rock were John Nabholz of Conway, state Sen. Mark Johnson of Ferndale and Lana Prosen of Benton.