WASHINGTON � The GOP revealed a portion of its 2016 battle plan Tuesday, selecting Cleveland -- the new home of "Johnny Football" Manziel and possible future home of LeBron James -- as the site of its national convention.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus announced the decision Tuesday on Fox News, in an early play for voters in the battleground state, which President Obama won in 2008 and 2012 but which is also the home to Speaker John Boehner.
"We couldn't be more excited," Priebus told Fox News. "It's a city that's on the rise."
The contest came down to Dallas and Cleveland.
The Republicans' site selection committee met Tuesday to review the two remaining cities' bids. The full 168-member RNC is expected to ratify the choice next month.
The plans are for the GOP convention to begin on either June 28 or July 18 of 2016.
Ohio lawmakers were ecstatic after hearing the news.
"This is great news for Cleveland and our entire state," Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said in a statement. "It's a unique opportunity to showcase the new Cleveland as one of America's great cities, and to bring dollars and jobs to Ohio."
Ohio, along with Florida, has long been a prized battleground, but Obama has claimed it in the last two presidential races. Priebus acknowledged the state's political importance in announcing Cleveland as the 2016 selection.
The budget was the top criterion for the 12-member site selection committee.
The previous two GOP conventions have sapped party dollars during election years and Priebus has insisted the host city not leave the central party picking up the tab, which is expected to be around $60 million.
In proposals and presentations to the party, city officials outlined how each would raise the tens of millions of dollars required to pay for the weeklong rally for the party faithful. A successful convention is a boon not just to the political party, but also to the local economy.
In a post-convention report, organizers of Tampa, Fla.'s 2012 GOP convention said its $58 million in fundraising resulted in a $214 million direct economic impact. Some 50,000 activists, officials and reporters descended on the Tampa area for the convention, officials said. More journalists visited Tampa for the GOP convention in 2012 than visited in 2009 when Tampa hosted the Super Bowl.
That economic impact is one reason cities have been competing for months to host the convention.
Organizers earlier eliminated bids from Denver; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Once Vegas was taken out of the mix, Dallas emerged as a major competitor, in part because of its coalition of wealthy donors with ties to the Bush family and the oil industry. Dallas hosted the 1984 Republican convention, and Texas is seen as a reliably GOP state in presidential elections.
Cleveland, though, made its own aggressive pitch to Republicans. The RNC sent advisers to Cleveland last week for a second visit and to check out technical aspects of having a convention there.
No Republican has captured the White House without Ohio since Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The last candidate to win the White House without Ohio was John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, in 1960.
Can they Reince Preibus to change his name to Ron Price so as not to paint the party as out of touch, old money, privileged folks with odd names?
Id get this guy out of the limelight to start to change the image to cater to the masses, cause they dont pay attention to the issues.
Trump HAD the World, ", Trump saw our children, " Trump saw a way to make a brighter day so he started giving There was a choice he was making, he was saving our own lives Its true he made a brighter day for you and me. --Trump WINS 2016
New Jersey has never been in play for the Republican party. It might as well be Bangladesh for all the electoral votes the Republican could ever expect from it and running Christy wouldn�t change that anymore than running Romney caused Massoftwoshits to vote Republican.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much" Teddy Roosevelt
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much" Teddy Roosevelt
That is a good reason to pick Cleveland. For a nominee who wants to send a clear message about American Exceptionalism and time to turn this mess around.
Leo of the Land of Dyr
NRA FOR LIFE
I MISS SARAH
“In Trump We Trust.” Right????
SOMEBODY please tell TRH that Netanyahu NEVER said "Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away."
Great news...means the Dingbat won't be messin with Texas.
The end of democracy, and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.
KCs location is good, but that's about all that can be said for it.
It's been run by Demorats for a heckuva long time, as a President named Truman could attest to. He got his senatorship (and from there the Vice Presidency) from the Pendergrast mob that ran the town.
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
You could have guessed it would have been a city in either Ohio or Florida. Being they have just a bit of importance in the 2016 elections..
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