Republicans weighing new convention options
Republicans expect to move their national convention from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville, Fla., a shift planned after President Donald Trump told officials in North Carolina that he did not want to use social distancing measures aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus, according to three senior Republicans.
The decision could change, the Republicans cautioned, but as of now, officials are on track to announce the new location as early as Thursday.
Jacksonville has been Republicans’ top choice for days, after Trump told the governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, that he needed an answer about whether Charlotte could accommodate the convention in August with a promise that there would not be social distancing.
Jacksonville is the most populous city in
Florida, where Ron DeSantis, a Republican and an ally of Trump, is the governor. Jacksonville’s mayor, Lenny Curry, is a longtime Republican official.
Once they decided to uproot the convention, Trump’s aides and Republican officials had wanted to relocate to a state, and a city, controlled by Republicans. Jacksonville also may have enough hotel rooms to accommodate the gathering, people familiar with the discussions said, and it is a comparatively easy drive from Charlotte.
New reported cases of the coronavirus are on the rise in both North Carolina and Florida.
What exactly the event will look like remains unclear. Conventions normally last for four days, with thousands of party officials, delegates, donors, members of the news media and others coming together for speeches and votes.
Aides to Curry declined to comment. In a statement posted on Twitter, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida,
Joe Gruters, said, “While no final decision has been made by the RNC we understand Jacksonville is a frontrunner. This certainly has been generating a lot of attention and excitement. We continue to believe that Florida would be the best place for the convention.”
Officials have said some party business will still be conducted in North Carolina, even with the move, but that the president’s nomination will be celebrated at the new site. Whether any additional business is conducted there remains to be seen.
One idea being discussed is to have the first lady speak on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence deliver a speech accepting his nomination on Wednesday, and Trump deliver his acceptance speech on Thursday, a person familiar with the discussions said.
But it remains unclear whether there will be the typical slate of floor speeches from Republicans looking to get attention for their own political futures. Under Trump,
the party has increasingly functioned as a reflection of his desires.
Cooper had repeatedly told Trump that it was too early to make any promises about social distancing, and state health officials said the Republican National Committee and the host committee in Charlotte provided a requested plan for safely holding the event.
Jacksonville is among the dozens of cities and towns where protesters have called for changes in the treatment of black people by law enforcement. On Tuesday, Curry walked with protesters who were demonstrating outside City Hall.
Early Tuesday morning, city officials took down a confederate statue there.
Party conventions are often the focus of protests, and an event in Jacksonville is unlikely to be an exception.
“It’s a little too early right now to plan, but I can guarantee you’re going to see some protesting,” said Isaiah Rumlin, the president of the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP.
“This is a bad time for the president to think of coming here to host the RNC,” Rumlin said, citing the ongoing fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus and the protests across the country against police brutality and systemic racism.
“With Trump coming here, it’s just going to be another major problem here in this city,” Rumlin said.
“He should not be coming here. He should be working this out in Charlotte.”
Rumlin noted that Jacksonville residents had been holding their own demonstrations for weeks, and that there have been multiple controversies in the city over police shootings.
“All of this is going to come into play with the rhetoric the president is going to bring to Jacksonville,” he said.