The Republican National Committee has moved its convention from Charlotte, N.C. to Jacksonville, Fla., after N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, was unwilling to flex on his state’s rules pertaining to crowd restrictions.
The final decision was made Thursday but had been rumored for several days.
Most of the legal business of the convention will take place in Charlotte because of contractural obligations, but with fewer than 400 people. The celebrations and speeches will take place in Jacksonville. The convention will begin Aug. 24. The RNC also decided to make no changes to its 2016 platform.
Between delegates and alternates, about 80 people plus spouses and guests will be attending from Alaska.
Six people from every state will go to Charlotte, including the delegate chairs, which in Alaska’s case is Ann Brown. In additional, Glenn Clary, Alaska GOP chair; Cynthia Henry, national committeewoman; and Peter Goldberg, national committeeman, will attend in Charlotte. They will arrive the week before to get the nomination vote accomplished, a vote that will be reconfirmed by the entire delegation in Jacksonville.
“We appreciate Florida’s hospitality and are excited the decision has been made so people can make adequate plan,” Clary said.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, a Republican and the former chair of the Florida Republican Party, came forward as soon as Charlotte started looking like a no-go, and offered the Veterans Memorial Arena up for the convention. As many as 10 other cities were considered by the RNC.
Jacksonville is a 5.5-hour drive south of Charlotte on I-95, and a 2.5-hour drive from Orlando. In addition, it is served by several airlines, including American Airlines and American Eagle, Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and United Express, and US Airways and US Airways Express.