Milwaukee to host 2024 GOP convention after Nashville pulls out

Beer, Brats, and Elephants. 

The Republican National Committee has officially tapped Milwaukee to host the party’s 2024 national convention, where state and territory delegates will officially select the GOP’s next nominees for president and vice president. 

“Milwaukee is a world-class city, and we are eager to see it shine in the spotlight come 2024,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said. “I look forward to working with the members of the Republican National Committee, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the Milwaukee Host Committee, and Visit Milwaukee to deliver an incredible convention for our Party and nominate the next President of the United States.”

Milwaukee was the last candidate city standing after Nashville’s city council rejected a draft agreement to host the event on Tuesday. However, the RNC’s site committee had already recommended last month that Milwaukee be the pick.

The choice marks a return to the Midwest for the GOP’s quadrennial extravaganza. The Republican Party has held 14 presidential nominating conventions in Chicago since its first election in 1856. Since the last Chicago Republican Convention in 1960, the party has picked Kansas City (1976), Detroit (1980) Saint Paul, Minn. (2008) and Cleveland (2016) as notable convention sites.

Milwaukee was due to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention, but the COVID-19 pandemic intervened and forced all events to be held virtually. The city used its preparations for that convention to argue to Republicans that it had a “turnkey” operation ready to host for real in 2024.

“Milwaukee welcomes the 2024 Republican National Convention. My city is ready to show the world what a great destination we are for conventions and tourism,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. “We look forward to the positive economic impact of the Presidential nomination convention, and, as the host city, I am confident all the attendees will find Milwaukee to be a splendid location for the event.”

Like most big cities, Milwaukee leans heavily Democratic. In the 2020 presidential election, Milwaukee County residents backed President Biden over Donald Trump by 40 percentage points, helping the Democrat to a narrow win in the Badger State after Trump pulled off an upset in 2016.

The winner in Wisconsin has been elected president the past four elections.

“My stance, and I think that most Democrats understand this, is that this is not a political decision, it is a business decision,” Johnson told CNN. “It will present an opportunity for us to have millions of dollars of economic impact … for us to fill our restaurants, our bars, our hotels, and to support our hospitality industry that’s been battered by COVID, of course, over the last couple of years.”

The Democratic Party has yet to announce where it will be holding its 2024 convention, but Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York have all submitted bids.

With Post wires