MILWAUKEE — There’s a sense of inevitability to this year’s Republican National Convention. Maybe that’s because it’s the first one since former President Donald Trump entered politics that Republicans have really united behind him. Or maybe the steady stream of polls showing him trouncing President Joe Biden has convinced Republicans they can’t, and won’t, lose.

Either way, there is a palpable excitement among the delegates and attendees that has been missing in years past. And that excitement is attracting voters, many of whom, including me, weren’t so sure about Trump in 2016 and 2020.