Continuing efforts to push its new social network into the mainstream, Google will live stream this year’s Republican National Convention on Google+, the company announced in a blog post today.

Google+ will also serve as the official social platform for the convention. Google+ and YouTube users will get an exclusive backstage pass to connect with Republican leaders off the podium via Google+ Hangouts, as well as streaming key events. The 2012 RNC is schedule for late August in Tampa, Fla.

This is hardly the first time Google has offered up Google+ live streaming coverage of a political event. Back in October, the social network live streamed a Hangout between leader of Tibetan Buddhism the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. More recently, President Barack Obama participated in a Google Hangout for the social network back in January.

Adding coverage of political events/discussion to Google+ is a smart move for the company, because it may actually draw in people who normally don’t like to explore new social platforms. It’s also a good way for the company to gain a slight advantage over Facebook in the political race.

Republican mascot photo via VIPDesignUSA/Shutterstock