2016 RNC Coming to Cleveland Next Week, but Will It Prove to be a Good Choice?

Location, location, location. Why Cleveland?

After several pitches and meetings, in 2014, the GOP announced that Cleveland would host the 2016 RNC. So why Cleveland and not another big city? Was there a strategy behind this pick and will it impact the results of the presidential election?

Major cities consistently play host to both the Republican and Democratic Conventions as the major goal of a convention is to introduce the presidential and vice-presidential nominees to the public. Three important things each party has to consider are the location, the platform, and the timing, with arguably location being the most important. In early convention era, the host city was expected to contribute financially to the national party committee. In addition, the parties often tried to pick a strategic location in an attempt to show their strength as a party. Not to mention, the host city has to be able to have quality facilities and be able to handle the crowds of visitors drawn to the city during convention week. Host cities no longer contribute financially to the party, but rather the city hopes to benefit financially from the increased tourism.

Before looking at the 2016 RNC in Cleveland, I want to briefly delve into the 2008 RNC in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Twin Cities were more than happy to accept the increase in business and tourism, but the GOP chose it as a strategic play. In 2006, shortly after the Twin Cities were announced as the host, Tom Scheck, reporter for Minnesota Public Radio, reported that "Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa were battleground states in the 2004 presidential election and are expected to play a big role in 2008." Read that article here.  Scheck also writes that Ron Carey, Minnesota's Republican Party Chair, says "having the convention in Minnesota will energize core Republican supporters."

Did having the 2008 RNC in the Twin Cities pay off for the GOP? Ultimately no. Looking at a map of the 2008 presidential election results, courtesy of The New York Times (link to the website here), Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin were all won by current president Barack Obama. Seeing these results, the GOP's strategy in picking the Twin Cities did not work out in their favor.

Photo by Ron Cogswell (Creative Commons license)

Flash forward to the 2016 RNC to be held in Cleveland next week. There is obviously a clear strategy in this pick, considering the fact that Ohio is a notorious swing state. To further emphasize that point, the Washington Post reports that "no Republican president since Calvin Coolidge has won the White House without carrying Ohio." Read that article here. In addition to being a critical swing state, presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, hopes to put on a show. Media loves a show and the more attention the 2016 RNC receives, then hopefully for Trump, the better he does in polls. Not to mention the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals last month, a huge success for Cleveland and one that catapulted the city onto the national stage right before the 2016 RNC.

So why not Cleveland? It truly is a great city and for any of my readers, if you have a chance to come out to Cleveland during the RNC next week, I encourage you to do just that. Next week, all eyes will be on Cleveland and it will truly be an exciting place to be.