Cleveland beats out Dallas for the final nod. Cleveland to host GOP convention

Cleveland will host the 2016 Republican National Convention after beating out Dallas for the final nod, putting the party’s nomination festivities in a key presidential battleground, Chairman Reince Priebus said Tuesday.

Priebus made the announcement on Fox News, and an official statement followed.


In choosing Cleveland, party organizers opted for a Democratic enclave in the pivotal battleground state of Ohio over the wealthier and more conservative Dallas area for their convention, which officials say could take place in late June or mid-July of 2016.

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Republican officials wanted an earlier convention in 2016, to allow the nominee to pivot more quickly to the general election. Cleveland offered up a late June date, while Dallas was considering mid-July, reports said, though an RNC spokeswoman said Tuesday that the exact timing was still part of the negotiation process. Priebus said on Fox that the party is looking at June 28 or July 18, 2016, a move that would shorten what he described as a “bruising” primary process.

“I will say it was a business decision, when it came down to hotels, the venue, the arena, it was unbelievable,” Priebus said. He added later in the segment, “In the end, as well, it’s Cleveland, Ohio, and as goes Ohio, so goes the presidential race.”

GOP officials have said that logistics — including fundraising capabilities and hotel space — played a central role throughout the elimination process of a contest that previously also included Kansas City and Denver, among other cities.

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Some Republican donors privately said Texas, where the Republican Party recently made strong stands in its platform against gay rights and endorsing “reparative therapy” for gays, would send the wrong message at a time when the GOP needs to expand its base.

A critical component of the RNC’s “autopsy” after the 2012 election was the need to appeal to an increasingly diverse electorate. Holding the convention in a heavily African-American city provides a backdrop that helps the party avoid the appearance of homogeneity.

Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist who has long urged the party to broaden its tent, said that “if done correctly, and that’s a big if given [past conventions], a convention can be a stage on which to send a lot of campaign messages.”

“We’re going where the swing voters are,” he said, adding that it demonstrates the party making a play for people who work in manufacturing jobs across the Midwest.

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But there are downsides to holding the event in Ohio instead of Texas. There are fewer megadonors in the Midwestern state, meaning the RNC needs money commitments ahead of time.

The event, which could draw up to 50,000 people, is expected to be astronomically expensive. Cleveland, home to a new convention center, reportedly has $30 million on hand compared with $50 million in commitments that Dallas had secured. Ohioans involved in the effort, however, have said fundraising won’t be a problem. The 2012 convention was held in Tampa, Florida, a choice that was roundly denounced after the fact, given that the city was in the path of a hurricane just as the convention was set to kick off. Organizers were forced to call off the first night of events, which led to a truncated and muted affair, further heightening this year’s attention to logistics ahead of the next convention.

Both Cleveland and Dallas turned to athletes, celebrities, food — and in the case of Dallas, elephants that greeted officials — to make their cases to site-selection decision makers.

The announcement is a coup for Cleveland as it seeks to update its image from a crime-ridden, economically struggling Rust Belt city long dubbed the “Mistake by the Lake” to a thriving metropolis with a revitalized downtown.

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“Cleveland is a phenomenal city, and I can’t think of a better place to showcase our party and our nominee in 2016,” Enid Mickelsen, head of the site selection committee, said in a statement. “Cleveland has demonstrated they have the commitment, energy, and terrific facilities to help us deliver a history-making Republican convention.”

The 2016 conventions won’t receive federal matching of funds as they had in the past. At the same time, such events are often economic boons for the host cities.

“It’s a unique opportunity to showcase the new Cleveland as one of America’s great cities, and to bring dollars and jobs to Ohio,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a close ally of 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. Portman and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are both discussed as possible 2016 GOP contenders.

“Ohio is the quintessential swing state, and it has a very popular and successful Republican governor,” said Haley Barbour, a former RNC chairman. “A really good combination.”

The decision to go with Ohio was anticipated by many Republican operatives and donors. Ohio is a crucial battleground that Republicans haven’t won in the past two elections.

Bob Bennett, the former Ohio state GOP chairman, said that it was a wise move for the national party to choose Ohio “from the standpoint that Ohio is always in play.”

“I think Cleveland’s business community really” made a push for it, he added.

President Barack Obama’s reelection turnout operation was critical to his win in the Buckeye State in 2012, and Republicans are aware they need it back in their column if they’re going to succeed in the future.

Cleveland had also been in the running to host the Democratic convention, though signing a contract to host the RNC would disqualify it from the Democratic National Committee’s list of convention cities. Democrats aren’t expected to announce their decision until late this year or early next year, though site visits are set to get underway later this month. Other contenders for the Democratic National Convention include Brooklyn, New York; Philadelphia; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; and Phoenix.

A site visit to Cleveland had also been on the calendar for the Democrats, but DNC spokeswoman Lily Adams said that “given today’s news, we’ll discuss with Cleveland and determine whether a site visit is still necessary.”

Jake Sherman and Kendall Breitman contributed to this report.