The Republican National Committee has officially selected Milwaukee to host the party’s 2024 national convention, where state and territory delegates will formally choose the next Republican Party nominees for President and Vice President. “Milwaukee is a world-class city, and we look forward to seeing it shine in the spotlight in 2024,” said RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel. “I look forward to working with the members of the Republican National Committee, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the Milwaukee Welcome Committee and Visitation Milwaukee to deliver an incredible convention for our Party and nominate the next President of the United States.” Milwaukee was the latest city in the running after the Nashville City Council rejected a draft agreement to host the event on Tuesday. However, the RNC site committee had already recommended last month that Milwaukee be the choice. The choice marks a return to the Midwest for the four-year GOP extravaganza. The Republican Party has held 14 presidential conventions in Chicago since its first election in 1856. Since the last Chicago Republican Convention in 1960, the party has chosen Kansas City (1976), Detroit (1980) St. Paul, Minn. (2008) and Cleveland (2016) as notable conference locations. Milwaukee was set to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention, but the COVID-19 pandemic intervened and forced all events to take place virtually. The city used its preparations for that convention to argue to Republicans that it had a “turnkey” operation ready to actually host 2024. Milwaukee was originally slated to host the 2020 DNC, but canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Getty Images/iStockphoto “Milwaukee welcomes the 2024 Republican National Convention. My city is ready to show the world what a great convention and tourism destination we are,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “We look forward to the positive economic impact of the presidential nominating convention and, as a host city, I am confident that all attendees will find Milwaukee a wonderful location for the event.” Like most major cities, Milwaukee leans heavily Democratic. In the 2020 presidential election, Milwaukee County residents backed President Biden over Donald Trump by 40 percentage points, helping the Democrat narrowly win the Badger State after Trump’s 2016 upset. The winner in Wisconsin has been elected president in the last four elections. “My position, and I think most Democrats understand this, is that this is not a political decision, it’s a business decision,” Johnson told CNN. “It’s going to give us an opportunity to have millions of dollars of economic impact … to fill our restaurants, our bars, our hotels and support our hospitality industry that has been hit by COVID, of course, over the last couple of years.” The Democratic Party has yet to announce where it will hold its convention in 2024, but Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and New York have submitted bids. With Post cables
