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The 2020 Republican National Convention: What to Expect

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    After a bit of back and forth between Florida and my state of North Carolina, the Republican National Convention is set to take place in Charlotte NC on August 24th through August 27th. Being a Charlotte resident myself, I have to say it's a big relief that the convention won't be as big of a deal as it would have been previous to 2020. Not that I like the current state of things at all, but I'm happy the entire town won't be shut down for days and days while a massive party takes place down the road from my house.

    Like with the DNC, the RNC's convention is basically be a virtual one this year. The six delegates from each state will still be meeting in Charlotte to vote and hold the conference, but the main speakers will not be attending. This includes Trump himself who has said he will not be attending and instead mentioned he may speak at the White House or Gettysburg, though park officials have said this may be violating the "Hatch Act" which states government employees cannot engage in certain political activities on the property. As for the other speakers, it's still unknown who they'll be and what they're bringing to the table. I have a general idea. Ivanka Trump, Melania Trump (doubtful to me), Mike Pence and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. I'm not sure who else would speak beyond those few.

    Though it's not official just yet, Trump campaign officials have said the theme of this year's RNC will be "The forgotten men and women of America", as well as "the land of heroes" and "land of greatness" rotating out as the convention moves on.

    I have to say, political party aside, I don't see this being very useful or exciting for the Trump campaign like it would be if it were in person. It would usually be a grand party with all the bells and whistles, but is now only pre-recorded and live feed. I think that will take everything away that Trump would normally use to his advantage. The changes basically boil it down to which has more grabby headline speakers and audio bites. With that in mind, I think the DNC has a much, much more news-worthy event planned. They have speakers that will generate a ton of attention, such as President Obama, Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders and more.

    Historically speaking, a bounce in points for the candidate would usually come shortly after the convention. But does anyone see that being possible here? There's no party. No big hoorah to get people excited. I can see that being a reality for the already leading Joe Biden simply from his speakers alone, but I can't think of how that would work for Trump in this current situation.

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    There's a good chance the polls will change after the conventions, for both sides. I imagine some favor-ability/likability poll results will go up for a short while for each candidate, after each convention. And maybe we'll even see the candidates come closer in the national polls overall, as each side digs in.

    But I agree, the fact that these are virtual conventions takes a lot of steam out of them. The Republicans don't have a lot of draw for theirs outside of Trump himself, but he gets so much coverage already I'm not sure how much that will change things. No doubt he does or says something, or 10 somethings, that make headlines for a while. But again, that always happens anyways.

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    J.K.Logic Wrote:

    There's a good chance the polls will change after the conventions, for both sides. I imagine some favor-ability/likability poll results will go up for a short while for each candidate, after each convention. And maybe we'll even see the candidates come closer in the national polls overall, as each side digs in.

    But I agree, the fact that these are virtual conventions takes a lot of steam out of them. The Republicans don't have a lot of draw for theirs outside of Trump himself, but he gets so much coverage already I'm not sure how much that will change things. No doubt he does or says something, or 10 somethings, that make headlines for a while. But again, that always happens anyways.

    Agreed. But still, I can see it reaching more people since so many folks are still in their homes. It definitely could be argued that it may reach more people than previous live conventions.