Republican National Convention, 2020

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The Republican Party held its national convention from August 24-27, 2020.[1]

Limited in-person events took place in Charlotte, North Carolina.[2] On July 23, 2020, President Donald Trump announced that high-profile convention events previously moved to Jacksonville, Florida, including his nomination acceptance speech, had been canceled for public health and safety reasons. Trump formally accepted the party's nomination from the White House.[3][4][5][6]

The convention was originally scheduled to take place entirely in Charlotte but statewide restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic led to the convention's planned relocation to Jacksonville.[7] The Republican National Committee Executive Committee voted to downsize the convention in Charlotte, reducing the number of in-person delegates from 2,500 to 336. The committee also decided to adopt the 2016 platform again since the Platform Committee would not be meeting.[8]

At the convention, party delegates typically select the Republican presidential nominee and vote to adopt a platform outlining the party's policy priorities and values. According to presidential historian Tevi Troy, however, "conventions today remain largely party advertising opportunities rather than fora for real decision-making."[9]

On this page, you will find:

  • Logistical changes: Adjustments to the convention in response to the coronavirus pandemic
  • Platform: An overview of how the 2020 Republican Party Platform was adopted
  • Host cities: Why Charlotte and Jacksonville were selected to host the convention
  • Attendance: A list of Republican officials declining to attend the convention
  • Delegates: An overview of the type and number of delegates expected to attend and how they influenced the selection of a nominee
  • History: An overview of the history of presidential nominating conventions and a list of past Republican conventions

For an overview of Ballotpedia's on-the-ground coverage of the last Republican National Convention in 2016, click here.

Logistical changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic

  • June 11, 2020: Due to restrictions on gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina, the Republican National Committee moved the final three days of the convention to Jacksonville, Florida.[3]
  • July 6, 2020: The Jacksonville Host Committee announced that attendees would receive daily COVID-19 testing and temperature checks.[10]
  • July 16, 2020: RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced that only 2,500 state delegates would be allowed to attend the first three nights of the convention. On the convention's final night, when Trump was expected to accept the party's nomination, she said guests and alternate delegates would also be permitted to attend.[11]
  • July 20, 2020: Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said his department could not provide adequate security for the Republican National Convention given current plans and the potential for protests. He said, “Where we are today is we can’t support this plan. … There’s got to be some major re-working of what’s happening.”[12]
  • July 23, 2020: Trump announced the Jacksonville portion of the convention, including his nomination acceptance speech, had been canceled for public health and safety reasons. He said he would still formally accept the party's nomination.[4][5]
  • August 13, 2020: Politico reported that the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., would serve as the central hub for convention speeches.[13]

Convention schedule and meetings

See also: Republican National Convention, 2020/Schedule and speakers

This section contains the list of speakers for the convention program from August 24-27, 2020, at the Republican National Convention.[14][15][16]

Monday, August 24: Land of Heroes

Procedure

  • Presidential nomination by delegates

Speakers


Tuesday, August 25: Land of Promise

Speakers


Wednesday, August 26: Land of Opportunity

Speakers


Thursday, August 27: Land of Greatness

Speakers

Host cities

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted portions of the 2020 Republican National Convention. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said of the city, "It's perfect to host a convention. First of all, it's the hospitality city. You've got great hotels, you've got great food, you've got friendly people. We want to make this a great experience for Charlotte, and we appreciate the whole team—the mayor, the city council, everyone who has worked so hard to get our convention there."[17]

The city previously hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2012.

Jacksonville, Florida

The Republican National Committee announced on June 11, 2020, that Jacksonville, Florida, would host the final three days of the convention. McDaniel said in a press release, "Not only does Florida hold a special place in President Trump's heart as his home state, but it is crucial in the path to victory in 2020. We look forward to bringing this great celebration and economic boon to the Sunshine State in just a few short months."[18]

Trump later announced the Jacksonville portion of the convention, including his nomination acceptance speech, had been canceled for public health and safety reasons.[4][5]

Other finalists

Michael McDonald, chairman of the Republican Party of Nevada, entered a bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Neither the city of Las Vegas nor the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority was party to the bid, and the bid did not include a set venue.[19]

Other cities that expressed interest in hosting but did not place bids were Dallas, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Nashville, Tennessee; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (which won its bid to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention). "An official with the Republican National Committee said the GOP handled the selection process differently for the 2020 convention than for past conventions. The RNC was more proactive in keeping the list of potential cities small," The Charlotte Observer reported.[19]

2020 Republican Party Platform

See also: The Republican Party Platform, 2020
Party Platforms
2020 Democratic National Convention
2020 Republican National Convention
Democratic Party Democratic Party Platforms
2020 • 2016 • 2012 • 2008
Republican Party Republican Party Platforms
2020 • 2016 • 2012 • 2008

The Republican National Committee's Executive Committee voted on June 10, 2020, to adopt the same platform the party used in 2016. The decision accompanied a series of adjustments to the itinerary and location of the Republican National Convention due to the coronavirus pandemic, including reducing the number of in-person delegates attending the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 2,500 to 336, and canceling the meeting of the Platform Committee.[20][21]

Politico reported that both conservative and moderate Republicans were dissatisfied with the decision: "Social conservatives wanted new language on gender identity and late-term abortions. Social moderates said the current platform could alienate suburbanites."[22]

Responding to criticism, RNC national press secretary Mandi Merritt said, "It would not be right for a very small group to craft a new platform without all of the delegates present."[22] On June 12, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) called for a new and updated platform.[23]

Republican officials declining to attend the 2020 Republican National Convention

The following six Republican officials declined to attend the Republican National Convention. The list includes a reason for the official's absence, where available.

  • Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas): Abbot wrote in a letter on July 31, 2020, "It was an honor being selected to serve as Chair of the Texas Delegation for the 2020 Republican National Convention. However, as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, my top priority remains focused on protecting the health and safety of Texans."[24]
  • Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.): Alexander's office said in a statement on July 7, 2020, "Sen. Alexander is an honorary chair of the Tennessee Trump campaign, but he will not be attending the convention because he believes the delegate spots should be reserved for those who have not had that privilege before as he has had."[25]
  • Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine): An aide to Collins said on July 7, 2020, that the senator has never attended national conventions in years when she is up for re-election.[26]
  • Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa): Grassley identified the coronavirus pandemic as the reason he was not attending the event. "I’m not going to go because of the virus situation," he said on July 6, 2020.[25]
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska): A spokesperson for Murkowski said on July 7, 2020, that the senator "does not plan to attend the convention at this time.”[26]
  • Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah): A spokesperson for Romney said on July 7, 2020, that the senator did not plan to attend the convention.[26]

Delegates

See also: Republican delegate rules, 2020

In 2020, there were an estimated 2,551 delegates: 2,441 pledged delegates and 110 unpledged delegates.

To win the Republican nomination, a presidential candidate must receive support from a majority of delegates—an estimated 1,276 delegates.

Pledged delegates

Pledged delegates, also called bound delegates, are bound to vote on at least the first ballot at the national convention based on the results of their states' primary or caucus. The Rules of the Republican Party, as passed in July 2016 and amended in July 2018, state the following:

“

Any statewide presidential preference vote that permits a choice among candidates for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in a primary, caucuses, or a state convention must be used to allocate and bind the state’s delegation to the national convention in either a proportional or winner-take-all manner, except for delegates and alternate delegates who appear on a ballot in a statewide election and are elected directly by primary voters.[27]

”
—Rule 16(a)(1), The Rules of the Republican Party[28]

There are four distinct types of pledged Republican delegates:[29]

Pledged district delegates are distributed and elected at the congressional district level. The Republican Party assigns three district-level delegates to each congressional district.

Pledged at-large delegates are distributed and elected statewide. The Republican Party assigns 10 at-large delegates to each state.

Pledged party leaders: The Republican Party gives delegate status to three party leaders from each state and territory—its national committeeman, national committeewoman, and state party chair.

Pledged bonus delegates: Bonus delegates are assigned to states whose electoral votes went to the Republican nominee in the last presidential election and to states in which Republicans hold: the governorship, at least half of U.S. representative seats, a majority of a state legislative chamber, a majority of seats in both legislative chambers, or a U.S. Senate seat (elected within the past six years).

Delegate selection by month

The following shows the percentage of pledged delegates awarded over time following the primary or caucus of each state and territory.[30][31] The percentage reflects the minimum percentage of delegates awarded at that point as several states and territories have not yet set their election dates. Election dates, delegate counts, and percentage of pledged delegates are subject to change as each state finalizes its delegation selection process.


Unpledged delegates

Unpledged delegates, also called unbound delegates, are not bound by the results of state primaries or caucuses. Some state and territory party rules dictate that some or all of their Republican delegates are unbound.[32] The following was an estimate of unbound Republican delegates as of May 2019.

  • Pennsylvania's 54 district-level delegates were not bound to support any particular presidential candidate.
  • North Dakota does not hold a presidential primary or caucus in which citizens vote. All 29 of the state's Republican delegates were unpledged.
  • Colorado's three party leader delegates were unpledged.
  • Wyoming's three party leader delegates were unpledged.
  • All 18 delegates from American Samoa (9) and Guam (9) were unpledged. The Virgin Islands' three party leader delegates were also unpledged.


History

The first Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1856, two years after the Republican Party formed. Before conventions were introduced, presidential nominees were selected at private caucuses open only to members of Congress.[33]

Click here for a breakdown of Republican national conventions through 2008.

2016 convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

The 2016 Republican National Convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 18-21, 2016. At the convention, delegates selected Donald Trump as the party's presidential nominee and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as its vice presidential nominee. Speakers at the event included Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus; runner-up candidate Sen. Ted Cruz; and several Republican senators, representatives, and governors.

Overview of canceled primaries with presidential incumbents on the ballot

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Elisabeth Moore discusses delegate selection
View other episodes here.


In September 2019, four state Republican parties indicated that they were considering canceling their 2020 presidential primaries.[35] Several state parties canceled primaries during the 2004 and 2012 presidential elections, when incumbents George W. Bush (R) and Barack Obama (D) sought re-election.[36][37][38][39][40]

During the 2004 Republican primary process, primaries were:

  • canceled entirely in Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, New York, and South Dakota
  • canceled, but a convention or caucus was still held in Arizona, Delaware, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Washington[41]

During the 2012 Democratic primary process, primaries were:

  • canceled entirely in Arizona and Delaware
  • canceled, but a convention or caucus was still held in Connecticut and Virginia[42]
  • made advisory-only and non-binding in Florida, Michigan, and Texas[43]

Recent news

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Spectrum Local News, "RNC dates set for Aug. 24 - 27, 2020 in Charlotte," October 1, 2018
  2. ↑ CNN, "In a reversal, Trump says he'll accept GOP nomination in North Carolina," July 28, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 WSOC, "It’s official: Main event for RNC to be held in Florida instead of Charlotte," June 11, 2020
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 NPR, "President Trump Cancels Jacksonville Portion Of Republican National Convention," July 23, 2020
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 USA Today, "Trump cancels Jacksonville portion of Republican convention planned for August due to COVID-19," July 23, 2020
  6. ↑ Some, including former Republican National Committee member Curly Haugland, alleged after the 2020 convention that the RNC improperly used Rule 37(e) to proceed with a downsized and invalid national convention in August 2020. Under this interpretation, no rules were adopted for the election of delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention or the party's continued existence in 2020. Ballotpedia, "Email communication with Curly Haugland," September 9, 2020
  7. ↑ National Review, "Trump to Seek Alternate City to Host RNC after N.C. Gov. Says He Cannot Guarantee 'Full Capacity' Event," June 3, 2020
  8. ↑ The Hill, "GOP votes to scale back Charlotte convention, move Trump acceptance speech," June 11, 2020
  9. ↑ National Affairs, "The Evolution of Party Conventions," accessed April 30, 2019
  10. ↑ CNN, "Republican National Convention will test Jacksonville attendees daily for coronavirus," July 6, 2020
  11. ↑ NBC Bay Area, "GOP Restricts Convention Attendance Over Coronavirus Fears," July 16, 2020
  12. ↑ USA Today, "'We can’t support this' RNC plan, Jacksonville sheriff says while raising security concerns," July 20, 2020
  13. ↑ Politico, "Trump’s prime-time convention plan: A D.C. ballroom and government backdrops," August 13, 2020
  14. ↑ Donald J. Trump, "Trump Campaign Announces Speakers for This Week's Historic Republican National Convention," August 23, 2020
  15. ↑ Axios, "Trump campaign releases list of Republican convention speakers," August 13, 2020
  16. ↑ CBS Miami, "South Florida Businessman Maximo Alvarez Gives Impassioned Speech At Republican National Convention," August 25, 2020
  17. ↑ Charlotte Observer, "GOP picks Charlotte for 2020 convention. Now, the fundraising and organizing begin," July 20, 2018
  18. ↑ CNN, "Trump to accept nomination in Jacksonville after moving most of convention out of Charlotte," June 11, 2020
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 The Charlotte Observer, "7 cities considered an RNC bid. Almost all dropped out quickly," July 19, 2018
  20. ↑ CNN, "Republicans vote to significantly scale back official portion of Charlotte convention and make no changes to 2016 platform," June 11, 2020
  21. ↑ The Hill, "GOP votes to scale back Charlotte convention, move Trump acceptance speech," June 11, 2020
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Politico, "Republicans across the spectrum slam RNC's decision to keep 2016 platform," June 12, 2020
  23. ↑ The Hill, "Trump calls for RNC to approve 'new and updated platform,'" June 12, 2020
  24. ↑ Gainesville Register, "Gov. Greg Abbott will skip Republican National Convention to deal with coronavirus," August 3, 2020
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 ABC News, "Trump 'flexible' on size of convention as lawmakers shy away," July 7, 2020
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Washington Post, "Five Republican senators to skip GOP convention next month in Florida," July 7, 2020
  27. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  28. ↑ Republican National Committee, "The Rules of the Republican Party," amended July 20, 2018
  29. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
  30. ↑ The Green Papers, "The Green Papers Presidential Primaries 2020 Republican Delegate Vote Allocation," accessed May 9, 2019
  31. ↑ Frontloading HQ, "2020 Presidential Primary Calendar," accessed May 9, 2019
  32. ↑ The Green Papers, "The Green Papers Presidential Primaries 2020 Republican Pledged and Unpledged Delegate Summary," accessed May 9, 2019
  33. ↑ Reuters, "How selecting U.S. presidential candidates became the people's choice," March 29, 2016
  34. ↑ About.com American History, "Republican National Conventions," accessed May 1, 2024
  35. ↑ USA Today, "Republicans in 4 states may cancel their 2020 primaries to support Trump," September 7, 2019
  36. ↑ The Green Papers, "Primary, Caucus, and Convention Results - 2000," accessed September 10, 2019
  37. ↑ The Green Papers, "State by State Summary - 2004 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions," accessed September 10, 2019
  38. ↑ The Green Papers, "State by State Summary - 2008 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions," accessed September 10, 2019
  39. ↑ The Green Papers, "State by State Sumnmary - 2012 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions," accessed September 10, 2019
  40. ↑ The Green Papers, "State by State Summary - 2016 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions," accessed September 10, 2019
  41. ↑ All eight states held Republican presidential primaries in 2000 and 2008.
  42. ↑ Both states held Democratic presidential primaries in 2008 and 2016.
  43. ↑ All three states held binding Democratic presidential primaries in 2008 and 2016.
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