This year’s Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland began on July 18 and will last until July 21.
This is the fourth time the convention has been held in Ohio. The past three conventions were held in Tampa, Florida; St. Paul, Minnesota; and New York City.
The first Republican National Convention took place in the Music Fund Hall in Philadelphia in 1856. At that time, there were about 600 delegates who voted on both the presidential nominee and the vice presidential nominee.
Much has changed since that first convention, though. Here’s a look at what you can expect at this year’s convention.
How many delegates will be at the convention?
The Republican National Committee says there are about 2,470 delegates who will be in attendance at the convention. There are also about 2,300 alternate delegates.
Who will speak at the convention this year?
Party leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will speak. Trump’s former rivals, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Dr. Ben Carson, Gov. Scott Walker and Gov. Chris Christie, will also be speakers. Four of Trump’s children, Melania Trump, Las Vegas casino owner Phil Ruffin, actor Antonio Sabàto Jr. and two survivors of the 2012 attack on Benghazi, Libya, are also expected to make remarks. See a full list of speakers here.
What is the schedule at the convention?
Each day of the convention, there will be a number of speakers who will primarily speak to the theme of the day. Here are the themes and headliners throughout the week:
Monday: Make America Safe Again
Headliners: Melania Trump, Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Veteran Jason Beardsley and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke
Tuesday: Make America Work Again
Headliners: Donald Trump Jr., West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Dr. Ben Carson and actress Kimberlin Brown
Wednesday: Make America First Again
Headliners: Vice president of The Eric Trump Foundation Lynne Patton, Eric Trump, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and vice presidential nominee Mike Pence
Thursday: Make America One Again
Headliners: Co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel, real estate investor Tom Barrack, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump
What is the purpose of the convention?
The purpose of the convention is to officially vote on the presidential nominee and approve the party’s platform for the next four years. The platform can be viewed here.
How does the voting work?
The convention is meant to officially nominate the party’s presidential nominee, but there likely won’t be any surprises. The majority of the delegates at the convention are pledged to a candidate based on the outcomes of the state primaries and caucuses. Since Donald Trump has won enough of the primary elections to secure a majority of delegates, he will be named the nominee. Trump needed 1,237 of the roughly 2,470 delegates, and he has won 1,542.
If Trump had not secured a majority of delegates, there could have been a chance of a contested convention. In that case, there would be multiple rounds of voting that would allow the delegates to become unpledged and vote for any candidate.
When is the vice president selected?
In recent presidential elections, the presumptive nominee has selected his vice president before the start of the national convention. Historically, the nominee has also announced his choice at the convention. Trump made his vice presidential announcement the Friday before the convention, selecting Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Is the convention open to the public?
No, the public cannot get tickets to the convention. It is only for the delegates, party leaders and select media.
How many delegates are from New York?
There will be 95 delegates at the RNC representing New York. Each are pledged to a candidate based on the voting outcomes of each congressional district or the statewide outcome.
Three delegates for each of New York’s 27 congressional districts were selected by the state party and are pledged to the candidate who won a majority in their district. If no majority was won, two go to the candidate with the higher percentage and one goes to the candidate with the lower percentage. Trump received 75 of these pledged delegates and John Kasich won 6.
The remaining 14 delegates, which includes 3 RNC members from the state and 11 at-large delegates, were awarded to the candidate who won a majority of the statewide vote, which was Trump.
The three RNC members are Ed Cox, the state chairman, Jennifer Saul Rich, the New York national committeewoman, and Charles Joyce, the New York national committeeman.
