2024 presidential election | |
  Presumptive nominees Trump and TBA | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | July 15–18, 2024[1] |
| City | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Venue | Fiserv Forum |
| Chair | TBD |
| Keynote speaker | TBD |
| Notable speakers | TBD |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Donald Trump of Florida (presumptive) |
| Vice presidential nominee | TBA |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 2,429 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 1,215 |
 2024 U.S. presidential election | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Democratic Party | |
| Republican Party | |
| Third parties | |
| Related races | |
| |
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The 2024 Republican National Convention is an event in which delegates of the United States Republican Party will select the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 United States presidential election. It is scheduled to be held July 15 to 18, 2024, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[2]
By tradition,[3] because Democrats currently hold the White House, their convention will be conducted after the Republican National Convention; the 2024 Democratic National Convention is scheduled for August 19 to 22, 2024.
On January 7, 2022, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee said that four potential host cities were in the running to be selected for the 2024 convention: Milwaukee, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City.[4] Milwaukee was officially the host city for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which was largely held virtually in assorted locations with Milwaukee only assuming the role of a production headquarters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6][7] Milwaukee and Pittsburgh are both located in key swing states (Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, respectively) that had both played a significant role in determining the winner of the Electoral College in recent elections, while Nashville and Salt Lake City are both the respective state capitals of Tennessee and Utah, which have been reliably Republican states throughout most of the previous half-century (even though the capital cities themselves are considered Democratic strongholds within their states). From 2008 through the 2020 election, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party had only held their conventions in swing states.[8] Houston had previously taken steps towards bidding,[9] but decided against it due to conflicts with other scheduled events at venues.[10] Other locations that had, at one point, an interest in hosting, but which ultimately did not bid, included Columbus,[11] Las Vegas,[12] San Antonio,[8] and the state of Georgia.[13] Kansas City, Missouri had made a formal bid, but withdrew their bid in late December 2021, prior to the finalist cities being named.[14]
On February 4, 2022, Pittsburgh's bid committee announced that their bid had been eliminated from further consideration.[15] In early March 2022, Salt Lake City was eliminated by the Republican National Committee, leaving Milwaukee and Nashville as the two remaining finalist bid cities.[16]
The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County voted against a draft hosting agreement, which effectively forfeited the city's bid.[17]
On July 15, 2022, a site selection committee unanimously voted to recommend Milwaukee as the site of the convention over Nashville.[18] The Republican National Committee voted for Milwaukee to be the party's 2024 convention host during its early August 2022 meeting in Chicago.[2]
Milwaukee is the first city to host major party conventions in consecutive elections since New York City hosted both the 1976 and 1980 Democratic National Conventions.[8] However, the 2024 convention is set to be Milwaukee's first time hosting a normal in-person presidential nominating convention, since the 2020 convention was held with a "virtual" format.[19]
| City | State | Status of bid | Venue | Previous major party conventions hosted by city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee |  Wisconsin |
Winner | Fiserv Forum[2] | Democratic: 2020[a] |
| Nashville |  Tennessee |
Finalist (bid eliminated in August 2022) |
Presumably Bridgestone Arena and/or Music City Center[20] | — |
| Salt Lake City |  Utah |
Finalist (bid eliminated in March 2022) |
Vivint Arena[16] | — |
| Pittsburgh |  Pennsylvania |
Finalist (bid eliminated in February 2022) |
Presumably PPG Paints Arena and/or David L. Lawrence Convention Center[21][22] | — |
| Kansas City |  Missouri |
Non-finalist (bid withdrawn in December 2021) |
T-Mobile Center[23] | Democratic: 1900 Republican: 1928, 1976 |
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On December 21, 2022, the Republican National Committee announced that the convention's dates will be July 15–18, 2024.[24]
The event is anticipated to potentially bring 50,000 visitors to Milwaukee.[25] Estimates show that it could bring as much as $200 million in revenue to the region.[26]
In terms of population, Milwaukee is smaller than other metropolitan areas that have hosted recent major party conventions.[27] Milwaukee is among the smallest metropolitan areas to have hosted a major party convention.[28]
On April 11, 2023, it was announced that Chicago had been selected to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention.[29] Milwaukee and Chicago are approximately 90 miles apart on the coast of Lake Michigan. This is a highly unusual proximity for two different cities hosting major party conventions in the same year. Not since 1972, when both conventions last shared a host city, have the sites of the two major party convention sites been so closely located.[30]
In his proposed state budget for 2024, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers included a provision that would extend the permitted hours of operation for southeast Wisconsin bars to 4:00 a.m. during the convention. State law in Wisconsin mandates that bars close at 2 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends.[31] In June 2023, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed a bill to accomplish such an extension of hours for bars during the convention. The Wisconsin Senate will need to pass the bill before the governor could sign it.[32]
In July 2023, in signing the state budget into law, Governor Evers used his line item veto power to decrease state funding for the convention from $10 million to $1 million.[33]
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Reince Priebus is serving as the chairman of the MKE 2024 Host Committee.[34] From September 2022 until May 2023, the host committee's chief executive officer (CEO) was Stephen B. King.[35][36][37] In May 2023, it was announced that Milwaukee businessman Ted Kellner would be replacing King as CEO, but that King would remain a member of the Host Committee.[37]
The convention's host committee aims to raise $65 million to fund the convention.[38]
Working with the host committee on behalf of the Republican National Committee is convention's Committee on Arrangements. On March 24, 2023, Anne Hathaway was appointed chairwoman of the committee and Ron Kaufman was appointed general chairman.[34] Elise Dickens was named as chief executive officer on June 1, 2023.[39] On June 29, 2023, further committee members were announced, including KC Crosbie as treasurer, Vicki Drummond as secretary,[40] and David Bossie as co-chair. Other members of the committee that were announced included Maripat Krueger, Brian Schimming, and Tom Schreibel.[41]
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Milwaukee and its immediate metro area have a smaller number of hotel rooms than can be needed for a major party presidential nominating convention. As a result of this, the 2020 Democratic National Convention, before plans changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was originally expected to house a large share of convention delegates in hotel rooms located in Illinois.[42] However, due to the fact that Republican conventions have fewer total delegates than Democratic conventions, it has been reported that the plans for the 2024 Republican Convention do not entail such far-flung accommodations for delegates.[43] Some visitors for the 2020 Democratic Convention were originally anticipated to stay in Madison, Wisconsin.[44] Madison, Wisconsin's visitors bureau have confirmed that, when Milwaukee city was bidding, Milwaukee officials inquired with them about Madison's hotel availability around the time of the convention.[45]
To accommodate convention visitors, the host committee is working with a Chicago-based firm to secure hotel rooms in more than 300 hotels and motels located within a 60-mile radius of the convention site.[46][47]
In addition to hotels, the original plans for the 2020 Democratic Convention in the city had dormitories at Milwaukee-area universities and colleges accommodating some convention guests and volunteers.[48] Similarly, dorm rooms are expected to be utilized as accommodations during the 2024 Republican National Convention.[49] Marquette University has adjusted their academic calendar to allow for the availability of their dorms during the convention.[50]
The convention will be a National Special Security Event.[51] With the exception of the downscaled 2020 conventions, each presidential election since 2004 has seen $50 million grants allocated to each convention host city for security costs. In early 2023, the eight Wisconsin members of the United States House of Representatives wrote a letter to the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science urging that the amount allocated for security at each convention be increased to $75 million for the 2024 election.[52]
In April 2023, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson stated that he believed the considerations that should inform security plans for the 2024 Republican National Convention should include the original security plans for a full-scale 2020 Democratic National Convention in the city and input for the U.S. Secret Service. He also stated that the security plans should reflect the political climate, noting the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack.[53]
As of April 2023, it was estimated that security for the Republican National Committee could necessitate 4,500 police officers from agencies outside of Milwaukee Police Department. This number is 1,500 greater than the number of outside police officers that had originally been expected in the plans for a full-scale 2020 Democratic National Convention in the city.[53]
Acting upon a request by Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, on May, 2023, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission has approved a suspension lasting from July 12 through July 26, 2024 of the city 15-day policy for the release of bodycam footage. The 6–3 vote of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission to authorize this was held in closed session without public comment.[54] This move received criticism from community activists.[51] The ACLU of Wisconsin published an opinion opposing the suspension of the policy.[55]