Convention move to Fla. vexes Republicans
WASHINGTON — The abrupt uprooting of the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville, Fla., has created a tangled financial predicament for party officials as they effectively try to pay for two big events instead of one.
Organizers are trying to assuage vexed Republicans who collectively gave millions of dollars for a Charlotte event that has mostly been scrapped. The host committee there has spent virtually all of the $38 million it raised before the convention was moved, leaving almost nothing to return to donors, or to pass on to the new host city.
In Jacksonville, fundraisers are describing the process as the most difficult they have ever confronted: Florida has been setting daily records for new virus cases, freezing money as donors wait and worry about the safety risks of the pandemic.
“I don’t want to encourage people getting sick,” said Stanley S. Hubbard, a Minnesota billionaire who has donated more than $2 million to help Republicans, including President Donald Trump, since the beginning of the 2016 election.
Hubbard, who donated $25,000 to the RNC’s convention account in 2018, is hesitant to give to the Jacksonville host committee because he thinks it is ill advised to hold the convention in the midst of a pandemic. “Unless this thing goes away, I think it’s a bad choice,” he said.
Organizers are not holding their breath for generous contributions from big donors, like Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino owner, who has given to host committees in the past but has not indicated he plans to support the Jacksonville event. Instead, they are working down long lists of donors who might be willing to give smaller amounts.
But the virus has proved a debilitating impediment for Jacksonville. Florida had recorded almost 180,000 total coronavirus cases through Friday, but the surge in the last month has been dramatic. After reporting 667 new cases on June 1, the state has had more than 5,000 every day since June 24, including more than 10,000 Thursday. Hospitals across the state have started to sound the alarm about becoming overburdened.