Tag Archives: 2016 Republican National Convention

2016 Delegate Selection-Part IV: The Republican Rules

By tmess2 | Published April 11, 2015

In this, the final part of the series, we take a look at how the other side will be doing things for 2016.  The Republicans do things differently in several ways.  First, where the Democratic rules are several separate documents, the Republican rules are actually part of the basic rules of the Republican National Committee (with the rules for the convention being Rules 13-20.  Second, with limited exceptions (which happened in this cycle), the Republican rules are actually adopted at the last national convention.  (The Democrats draft the rules in the two years after the last convention).  Third, as noted, in the first post in the series, the Republicans actually have very few national rules (essentially eight basic rules) and mostly leave it to the state parties to make the important decisions that structure the selection process.

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2016 Delegate Selection-Part I:Overview

By tmess2 | Published March 29, 2015

Earlier this week, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas became the first candidate to officially announce for President.  For the next 11 to 14 months, Senator Cruz and others will be campaigning to win their parties nomination for president.  One of the basic principles of political science is that one of the factors that determines who wins an election is the rules for determining who wins.  The 2008 Democratic primary is a key example of this principle when then-Senator Obama managed to obtain a slight margin in the delegate count despite narrowly trailing then-Senator Clinton in the popular vote and then convinced party leaders that it was the slight lead in the delegate count that mattered.

As a first principle, in the U.S., the only truly national election is when the chosen electors meet in December of the presidential election year to cast their votes for President.  Outside of that one vote, every other election is run by the states, with the states setting the rules for the election.  For the most part, the individual states have opted to give “established” political parties an automatic ballot line on the general election ballot (with a party becoming established by receiving a certain percent of the vote in the last election).  In all of the states, state parties affiliated with the national Democratic and Republican parties have automatic ballot lines for the presidential election.   Additionally, state law (or state and national party rules) dictate that the candidates chosen for President and Vice-President by the national conventions of the two major parties will be the candidates for that party in a given state (along with the associated slate of electors chosen by state party).

Because the conventions choose the candidates, the rules for awarding convention delegates to the candidates (and then selecting individual candidates) determine who gets the nomination.  As a general matter, national law has very little to do with this process.  The main national law impacting the process is the campaign finance law which has more holes in it than swiss cheese, and it is likely that most spending in the 2016 race (even more so than in 2012) will be by “Super PACs” supporting individual candidates and operating outside of any limits (other than being prohibited from directly coordinating with their preferred candidate). Continue Reading...

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Cleveland construction projects won’t be done in time for #RNC 2016

By Oreo | Published March 18, 2015

Highway upgrades…

The Inner Belt Bridge won’t be orange barrel-free by the time the Republican National Convention is in town.

The Ohio Department of Transportation says it’s not feasible to speed up construction of Cleveland’s second Inner Belt Bridge any more than it’s already doing. That means barrels and detours will be in place when 50,000 visitors arrive in July 2016 for the convention. Continue Reading...

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Cleveland is picking up momentum heading into #RNC2016

By Oreo | Published March 17, 2015

Destination Cleveland used its 2014 annual meeting Monday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena to celebrate how Northeast Ohio is soaring in the eyes of vacationers, the national travel industry and meeting planners — a growing stature capped by the city’s attraction of the 2016 Republican National Convention.

“The world is taking notice,” David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland, told 1,000 civic, travel and hospitality industry leaders. He rattled off a handful of travel media organizations that have put Cleveland on their 2015 lists of most attractive travel destinations including including Fodor’s Travel, Buzzfeed, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Travel & Leisure. – Crain’s Cleveland Business

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Will the press call a parking garage home in Cleveland at #RNC2016?

By Oreo | Published March 10, 2015

Has Cleveland found the perfect place for reporters to work at the 2016 Republican National Convention? National Democrats, meanwhile, are rallying behind Ted Strickland instead of P.G. Sittenfeld. Read on in today’s Ohio Politics Roundup.

An unconventional idea: Cleveland has to find downtown space large enough to house 15,000 reporters during next year’s Republican National Convention – and space close enough to The Q so that journalists are able to keep up and keep sane.

John Campanelli of Crain’s Cleveland Business unearths details about one possible solution for the media filing center: the Gateway East parking adjacent to the arena. Continue Reading...

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Indy for #RNC2020 or #DNC2020?

By Oreo | Published February 25, 2015

It’s never too soon to start looking (way) ahead…

The requests for bids for the 2020 Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention are expected to be sent out to cities in late 2017 or early 2018, and there’s already speculation that Indianapolis will be a heavyweight contender for either convention.

If Republicans and Democrats come calling on Indianapolis—as expected—to host their 2020 national political conventions, they’re likely to get the same answers they got for 2016. Continue Reading...

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GOP announces July 18-21st for #RNC2016 in Cleveland

By Oreo | Published January 14, 2015

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee has selected July 18-21 as the official dates for the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

 
“I’m pleased to announce the 2016 Republican National Convention will kick off on July 18,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.  “A convention in July is a historic success for our party and future nominee.  The convention will be held significantly earlier than previous election cycles, allowing access to crucial general election funds earlier than ever before to give our nominee a strong advantage heading into Election Day.  
 
“We’re excited to continue working with our partners in Cleveland and we look forward to showcasing everything the city has to offer to our delegates and the world in 2016.”

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GOP 2016 date is earliest since 1980

By Oreo | Published January 14, 2015

With a date of July 18th this is the earliest GOP convention since the 1980 Reagan convention in Detroit which started on July 14, 1980.

It also the earliest of either major party since the Clinton Dem convention in NY which started July 13, 1992.

Is going back to July conventions a mistake? With social media, and all the web-based news outlets, it’s certainly easier to get coverage in the dead of summer than it might have been 22 or 34 years ago. But a late August convention, leading into September just as many voters are starting to pay attention, still seems preferable to me.

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What does the #RNC2016 choice of Cleveland mean for #DNC2016?

By Oreo | Published July 9, 2014

And so it’s “The Mistake by the Lake”. Ah Cleveland. Now, actually Cleveland has come a long way from the headline after the 1980 Census that said “Will the last one out, please remember to shut the lights?” Cleveland is a sports town, a music town (Hall of Fame not to mention the suburban Polka Hall of Fame) and the site of The Drew Carey Show. In addition to no hurricanes, there won’t be any lake effect snow in the summer. And actually, it’s a pleasant place.

So. Our final selection list is Birmingham, Cleveland, Columbus, New York (Brooklyn), Philadelphia and Phoenix. You can vote for your choice here. Let us know in the comments for which city you voted.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Cleveland and Columbus were now out of the running, because, well, do we really want two conventions in the same state? I’ve never thought that Phoenix was a great choice since so many people are still boycotting the state due to their illegal harassment immigration policies. Alabama? Really? If we were going to pick a southern state for voter registration reasons, tactically, Georgia and Mississippi make more sense. Then again, neither put in a bid. So that brings us to Philly and Brooklyn.  Continue Reading...

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Cleveland picked as host city for #RNC2016

By Oreo | Published July 8, 2014

Reince Priebus just announced on Fox News that Cleveland will host the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Now all they need is LeBron and it will be Cleveland’s best summer ever.

The announcement all but eliminates Cleveland as a host of the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The remaining cities are Birmingham, Columbus, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Continue Reading...

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