WASHINGTON (AP) — Cleveland won the backing of a
Republican National Committee panel on Tuesday, all but guaranteeing the
GOP’s 2016 presidential pick will accept the party’s nomination in
perennially hard-fought Ohio.
The Republicans’ site selection
committee backed Cleveland over Dallas, and the full 168-member RNC is
expected to ratify the choice next month. The move signals the role Ohio
— and its 18 electoral votes— plays in presidential campaigns.
"As goes Ohio, so goes the presidential race," said party Chairman Reince Priebus.
The
RNC did not announce a start date for the convention but Priebus said
that June 27 or July 18, 2016, are the two options under consideration.
Paying
for the convention 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 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,
Cleveland pledged to 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,
Florida’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 was one reason cities competed for months to host the convention.
Organizers earlier eliminated bids from Denver; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; Las
Vegas and Phoenix.
After
Las Vegas was no longer in play, 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.
But Cleveland has made an aggressive — and persuasive — pitch to host Republicans on the shores of Lake
Erie.
"I’ve
got to tell you: if you haven’t been the Cleveland lately, it’s a real
surprise how beautiful is down by that lake," Priebus said in announcing
the decision on the Fox News Channel.
Ohio’s allure as a
political prize proved tempting. 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.
"Republicans have clearly seen that Ohio is the great prize
in presidential races," Texas-based Republican strategist Joe Brettell
said.
In addition to the finances, officials are focused on each
city’s transportation and hotel plans. Tampa’s convention forced many
delegates — including major donors — into hotels an hour from the
convention site and was reliant on buses.
Timing, too, is a factor for officials.
Priebus
wants the convention scheduled for early summer of 2016, roughly two
months sooner than has become the norm. That would give the GOP’s next
presidential nominee quicker access to tens of millions of dollars in
general election cash.
Democrats, meanwhile, are on their own
timeline for picking a venue. Democratic National Committee officials
will begin site visits with a stop July 21 in Birmingham, Alabama. Other
cities in contention are New York City; Philadelphia; Columbus, Ohio;
and Phoenix.
Cleveland was a choice for Democrats, too. But if the
full RNC ratifies Cleveland as its choice as expected, Democrats will
drop Cleveland as an option.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is expected to announce a host city either late this year or early in
2015.
___
Peoples reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this
report.
___
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