COLUMBUS, Ohio – Columbus officials hoping to lure a major political convention to town in two year now turn their attention to the Democratic Party after being cut from the Republicans’ list.
Columbus was knocked off Wednesday along with Phoenix as officials cut the list to six. The Republican National Committee says Cleveland and Cincinnati remain on the list as possible sites for the 2016 Republican National Convention, along with Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas and Kansas City, Mo.
“In any other year, Columbus and Phoenix could have topped the list, but with so many strong cities competing, the committee had to make the difficult decision to narrow the field,” Republican National Committee Site Selection Committee chair Enid Mickelsen said in a statement issued Wednesday.
A bipartisan committee – Columbus 2016 – made up of representatives from the city, Franklin County Columbus Partnership, Experience Columbus and other local political leaders – began pursuing both parties’ nominating conventions in January and tried to put the best face on the news that they had struck out with the GOP.
“Through this process, we learned just how ready Columbus is to host major national and international events. We are still exploring the possibility of hosting the Democratic National Convention,” said Brian Ross, president and CEO of Experience Columbus.
“I thank the RNC for its consideration and congratulate the cities that were selected to move on to the next phase of this process,” Mayor Michael Coleman said.
A small Republican team will visit the six cities to scrutinize their financing, convention venues, hotels and media workspace. The selection committee then will decide which cities get official visits from the full Republican National Committee delegation.
“Ohio is now the only state with two cities advancing as potential host cities. We will do everything we can to support Cincinnati’s and Cleveland’s bids for the convention…While we are disappointed that Columbus did not advance, today’s results make clear that Ohio is an important state with vibrant cities,” Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges said in a statement.
Ohio has not hosted a national political convention since 1936, when it had 26 electoral votes as the nation’s fourth most populous state.