It’s a moment of political pomp and pageantry in the United States, unfolding near the middle of a presidential election year: the party’s national convention.
Every four years, both Republicans and Democrats hold massive television conventions to officially nominate their candidates for president and vice president.
And on July 15, the Republican Party opens the first convention of the 2024 election cycle. The four-day event will take place in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, capital of a critical state.
Former President Donald Trump, who was the party’s de facto nominee for months after fending off several challengers during the Republican primaries, is expected to use the convention stage to resolve any questions about his dominance over the party.
“This is basically the Trump show,” Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego, told Al Jazeera. “The convention will demonstrate how fully the party has embraced it.”
What can voters expect from the convention? How does the nomination process work and which election issues will be highlighted? We answer these questions and more in this quick explainer.
Where and when will the convention be?
The Republican National Convention will take place July 15-18 in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Several downtown locations were selected for the multi-day event, including the Baird Center, a convention center; Fiserv Forum, a basketball stadium; and the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena, which hosts hockey and football games.
Who will attend the convention?
The city says it expects about 50,000 people at the conference, including politicians, visitors and media, as well as law enforcement and officials. The event is not open to the general public.
Part of the reason is the convention’s high-profile guest list. The Republican National Convention is a place for party officials to be and be seen, and the event features several days of speakers, leading up to an acceptance speech from Trump himself.
There will also be 2,429 delegates representing US states and territories. Ultimately, they vote for their party’s candidate for president.
What happens at a convention?
The main event is the nomination process: delegates vote for the party’s official candidate, who traditionally accepts the role with a speech.
But the convention is also a place where the party’s platform is confirmed: it establishes a set of goals and ideals for which the party should strive.
Since the advent of television, conventions have become grander and often feature a series of speeches by party luminaries and influential figures.
There are also opportunities for convention attendees to socialize. At this year’s Republican National Convention, attendees will be able to participate in a prayer breakfast, panel discussions and a tour of the local Harley-Davidson motorcycle museum.
How does the nomination process work?
Although the U.S. Constitution does not include any guidelines for how a party should select its presidential candidate, both Democrats and Republicans use a system of primaries and caucuses, a series of state-level elections.
The results of the primaries and caucuses determine how many delegates from each state a candidate receives. Delegates then meet at the convention to vote for the candidate.
Some delegates are “pledged” – or committed to voting according to their state’s voting results. Others are “uncommitted” and free to vote as they wish.
Trump currently holds 2,265 delegates after winning every caucus and primary except in New Hampshire and Washington, DC. There, his former Republican rival Nikki Haley prevailed.
Haley was the last great Republican to fall out of the primary race. On July 9, she released the 97 delegates she won and encouraged them to vote for Trump at the Republican National Convention.
A critic of Trump during the race, Haley was not invited to the convention.
Who could Trump choose for vice president?
In the past, national party conventions were often the place to reveal – and sometimes even choose – vice presidential candidates.
Trump appears to be following this tradition closely. Although he launched his latest presidential campaign in November 2022, he has yet to make his choice of running mate public.
But his list includes Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
A vice presidential candidate is often selected for his or her perceived ability to “balance” a ticket.
In other words, they often boast qualities that the presidential candidate may lack, or may come from a state where the candidate may have limited appeal.
For example, during his first term, Trump’s vice president was former Indiana governor Mike Pence. While Trump was bold and outspoken, Pence seemed more measured in public. He also appealed to evangelical and rural voters, a contrast to Trump, who is twice divorced and originally from New York.
Trump and Pence have since discussed the events of January 6, 2021. Pence accused Trump of pressuring him to overturn the 2020 election results as Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol to disrupt the vote certification.
What is the party platform?
The party platform is a document that sets out the party’s priorities and official positions on a range of issues. Changes – or omissions – to a party platform can be a useful way of monitoring which groups or trends are gaining momentum within a party.
In 2020, the Republican Party made the unorthodox decision not to launch any platforms.
Has the Republican National Committee released a party platform for 2024?
On July 8, the party’s platform committee adopted a platform that strongly reflects Trump’s priorities and aggressive style.
“MAKE AMERICA THE WORLD’S DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER BY FAR!” reads one of 20 promises on the platform, written in all capital letters – a style reminiscent of Trump’s social media posts.
“Strengthen and modernize our armed forces, making them, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world”, says another point.
The platform also presents hard-line rhetoric on immigration, with several points dedicated to the “epidemic of migrant crimes” and the “migrant invasion”. It promises to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history”.
What issues could be contested at the convention?
While the Republican Party has rallied behind Trump, schisms have emerged over a range of issues.
Notably absent from the platform’s 20 promises is any reference to abortion, an issue that has caused electoral headaches for Republicans since the conservative-majority Supreme Court eliminated the federal right to the procedure in June 2022.
In the full 16-page platform document, a single mention of abortion can be found on page 15: “We will oppose late-term abortion.”
Some anti-abortion rights activists are already expressing discontent with the omission, although the platform is committed to rolling back transgender rights, an issue that has become a priority for Christian conservatives within the Republican Party.
“They rolled us. That’s what they did,” Republican National Committee platform committee member Gayle Ruzicka told WISN 12 News on Monday. “I’ve never seen this happen before. I don’t understand why they did this and I’m extremely disappointed that we don’t have any pro-life language.”
But Kousser, the political science professor, told Al Jazeera that the party is likely to keep these divisions in check.
“That’s not what modern conventions are about. Whatever internal discussions are taking place on issues like trade and abortion, you won’t see the party broadcasting them,” he said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
