RNC names Milwaukee as 2024 GOP convention host city

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The Republican National Committee on Friday formally named Milwaukee as the host city for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nominating convention.

All 168 RNC committee members picked Milwaukee during the final session of the committee's annual summer meeting, which is being held this year in Chicago.

"We are very excited about Milwaukee," RNC chair Ronna McDaniel emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the vote.

Milwaukee and Nashville, Tennessee were the final two cities among a large list that were initially in contention to host the 2024 Republican National Convention. However, Tennessee’s capital city fell out of contention on Tuesday night as Nashville’s Metro Council voted down a draft agreement to host the convention.

NASHVILLE VOTES DOWN HOLDING 2024 CONVENTION, LEAVING MILWUAKEE AS LAST CITY STANDING

Officials in Milwaukee present a mock-up of the 2024 GOP presidential nominating convention. The Republican National Committee on Friday Aug. 5, 2022 will formally name Milwaukee as the 2024 host city. (RNC/Milwuakee 2024 host committee)

Milwaukee approved its draft resolution in June, and two weeks ago the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) Site Selection Committee — which oversees the 2024 convention planning — recommended Milwaukee over Nashville. 

The two national parties often hold their presidential nominating conventions in competitive general election states. While Tennessee is a reliably red state in presidential contests, Wisconsin’s a key battleground.

"It is a purple state," McDaniel said of Wisconsin. "It is exactly the voters that we are trying to bring into our party, and they have done such a great job. We're excited not only to elect our future president out of Milwaukee as a Republican, but we're excited to showcase a wonderful city and a wonderful state."

Democratic National Committee officials are continuing to visit the cities hoping to host the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominating convention. The DNC may announce their choice when they hold their annual summer meeting in early September.

DEMOCRATS POSTPONE DECISION ON CHANGING THEIR 2024 PRIMARY CALENDAR

The RNC full membership in April voted unanimously to make no changes to their 2024 presidential nominating calendar, keeping Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada as their four early voting states.

The DNC's in the process of upending their nominating calendar, with the likelihood that Iowa – and possibly New Hampshire – will lose their cherished lead-off spots. Republicans in both states have used the move by the DNC as ammunition against Democrats running for re-election this November in hotly contested showdowns.

The Iowa Caucuses display at the State Historical Museum of Iowa, on Jan. 15, 2020. (Fox News)

When asked if the move by the DNC may hurt Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire, which is a crucial general election battleground state, McDaniel told Fox News "we recognize that there’s a history there, that voters are very in tune. Retail is key to winning the nomination in both of those states… we are very proud to have kept our calendar the same. I hope that people in those states recognize that the Democrats just walked away from their states."

While the 2024 election is on the agenda at the RNC meeting, on top of many minds is November’s midterms.

Democrats face historical headwinds, as the party that wins the White House and control of Congress traditionally suffers major setbacks in the House and Senate in the ensuing midterm elections. They are also up against a very unfavorable political climate, fueled by record inflation and soaring crime, and symbolized by President Biden’s deeply negative approval ratings.

McDaniel said RNC committee members are "very confident, very excited, even more so when we look at the candidates we have...as we are getting out of these primaries and really coming together to prepare to win in November."

DEMOCRATS SPENDING MILLIONS THIS WEEK TARGETING GOP NOMINEES OVER ABORTION

However, pointing to the issues of gun violence, following a slate of high-profile mass shootings in recent months, and abortion in the wake of the move by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which sent the issue of abortion regulation back to the states. Democrats see an energized electorate that will help them defy the current expectations by political prognosticators.

Signs in favor and against the Kansas Constitutional Amendment On Abortion are displayed outside Kansas 10 Highway on Aug. 1, 2022, in Lenexa, Kansas. (Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)

Democrats were further energized by Tuesday’s resounding victory in Kansas by pro-choice activists – in the first ballot box test of legalized abortion since the blockbuster high court ruling.

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When asked about the full court press by Democrats to leverage the issue of abortion in the midterms, McDaniel argued "the Democrats have a problem with inflation, with gas prices, with baby formula still missing, with an open border, with the drug crisis. I know they want to make this a big issue but the American people every day, when they go to the grocery store, when they go to the gas pump, realize what Democrat policies are doing to their pocketbook, and pocketbook issues are going to be the number one issue in November."