The Republican Party has “tentatively” decided to hold its August convention in Jacksonville, Florida, after disagreements with North Carolina officials over coronavirus safety measures.
Many of the details of the potential move to Jacksonville are still up in the air, and the party isn’t certain the city is large enough to accommodate the entire event, the Washington Post reported late Tuesday, citing three Republican officials briefed on the plans.
Therefore, many of the convention’s smaller and lower profile events are still scheduled to take place in Charlotte, so that the party can honor contractual obligations that were already in place, thus shielding itself from potential lawsuits.
A senior Republican official with familiarity on the subject pushed back on the Washington Posts’s report, however, telling the Daily Caller on Tuesday that the Republican National Committee is “still considering several cities, and no final decision has been made.”
“Convention officials are touring Phoenix, Savannah, Dallas, and Jacksonville this week, and we have been in conversations with several other potential locations,” RNC spokesman Steve Guest added.
President Trump has played a role in the party’s decision to look into hosting part of the convention elsewhere as he has been unhappy with Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s refusal to allow the party to fill an arena amid coronavirus concerns.
“Had long planned to have the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, a place I love. Now, @NC_Governor Roy Cooper and his representatives refuse to guarantee that we can have use of the Spectrum Arena – Spend millions of dollars, have everybody arrive, and then tell them they will not be able to gain entry,” Trump tweeted earlier this month.
“Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised,” he added. “Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ally of the president, has courted the party to host the convention in his state.
