2008 Republican National Convention
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| 2008 Republican National Convention | |
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 Official Logo of the 2008 Republican National Convention |
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| Date | 2008-09-01 |
| Venue | Xcel Energy Center |
| City | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| Presidential Nominee | John S. McCain of Arizona |
| Vice Presidential Nominee | of |
The 2008 Republican National Convention will take place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from September 1 until September 4, 2008.[1] The first day of the Republican convention will be Labor Day, the last day of the popular Minnesota State Fair. (The RNC National Convention will be held four days after the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention which will be held in Denver, Colorado at the Pepsi Center).
This is the latest any major party convention has ever been convened,[2] and the first one to take place entirely in September. Traditionally, the party who holds the White House has its convention second: the challenging party holds their convention usually in July while the incumbent party holds theirs in August. However, the Democrats wanted to schedule their convention after the 2008 Summer Olympics ended, and the Republicans wanted to keep the political and financial advantages of going second.[3]
The attending delegates at the convention will choose and nominate the Republican Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates for the 2008 Presidential election.
1,191 pledged delegates are necessary for a candidate to win the nomination.
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[edit] Hosting city selection
Four cities made bids to the Republican National Committee for proposals to host the 2008 Convention. Those cities were Cleveland, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, New York City, and Tampa-St. Petersburg. The RNC Selection Committee made its recommendation for Minneapolis-Saint Paul and on September 27, 2006, the RNC made its decision public that the 2008 National Convention would be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.[1] The RNC made their decision earlier than originally scheduled due to the fact the Democratic National Committee also had Minneapolis-Saint Paul as a finalist among bidding cities. (After the RNC's selection the DNC removed Minneapolis-Saint Paul from consideration which left only two cities to choose from, New York City and Denver, Colorado). This is the second time the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area is holding the Republican convention—the first one was held in 1892.
[edit] Political significance
Minnesota and neighboring states Wisconsin and Iowa are seen as potential political battlegrounds. Minnesota has not gone to the Republicans since 1972 (including 1984 when Ronald Reagan captured all states but Minnesota and the District of Columbia) when President Richard Nixon won every state except the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. Minnesota and Wisconsin weigh 10 electoral votes apiece.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Since the U.S. Constitution limits the president to two terms and Vice President Dick Cheney has stated that he will not seek the Presidency, the 2008 election will be the first election in 80 years in which neither the sitting President nor Vice President will seek his party's nomination, and the first since 1952 in which neither the sitting President nor Vice President will be on the ticket.
[edit] Delegate Count
1,191 delegates are needed to become the party nominee. As of March 4th, John McCain has received over 1,191 delegates and will likely be the Republican nominee; however, bound delegates may choose to abstain from voting within the first round.
[edit] Protest
As soon as St. Paul was determined to be the host city for the convention, anti-war groups and peace advocates began planning the protest of the convention.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b RNC Site Selection Committee To Recommend Minneapolis – St. Paul For 2008 Republican National Convention. Republican National Committee (2006-09-27). Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
- ^ About the 2008 Republican National Convention. 2008 Republican National Convention official website. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
- ^ 2008 Conventions Will Be Days Apart. New York Times (2006-04-06). Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
[edit] External links
- 2008 Republican National Convention official website
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul 2008 Host Committee
- Republican National Committee official website
| Preceded by 2004 New York |
Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 2012 (not yet decided) |
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