Cooper insists on smaller Republican convention. RNC looks to leave Charlotte
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday refused to guarantee the full Republican National Convention that GOP leaders want in Charlotte, leaving the door open for a scaled-back event but sending Republican officials scouting other cities.
The four-day convention is scheduled to start Aug. 24 at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
In a letter, the governor told RNC officials that face coverings and social distancing are “a necessity” as they plan a convention during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Republican leaders and President Donald Trump had asked for 19,000 people in attendance with no social distancing and no masks.
North Carolina is in Phase 2 of its economic re-opening. Indoor gatherings are currently limited to 10 people.
“As much as we want the conditions surrounding COVID-19 to be favorable enough for you to hold the convention you describe in late August, it is very unlikely,” Cooper wrote RNC officials. “Neither public health officials nor I will risk the health and safety of North Carolinians by providing the guarantees you seek.”
Moments after Cooper’s letter was made public, Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, tweeted Tuesday that the committee would “begin visiting the multiple cities and states who have reached out in recent days about hosting an historic event to show that America is open for business.”
McDaniel also wrote that “we hope to still conduct the business of our convention in Charlotte.”
‘I think it’s done’
But at least one Republican National Committee member said he thinks the convention will be moved.
“I think it’s done. You can’t negotiate with a guy like (Cooper). He’s a hard-leftist Democrat that doesn’t want Trump to look good in his state,” said Shawn Steel, the California committeeman for the RNC.
Members of the Republican National Committee are scheduled to visit other possible convention sites this week, including Nashville, Tenn., Las Vegas and Orlando, Politco reported Tuesday.
Cooper said holding that type of mass gathering would be difficult anywhere.
“Anywhere they would go, you really don’t know exactly where COVID-19 is going to be in that particular place at the end of August,” Cooper said at a news conference Tuesday. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Asked how likely it is that Charlotte will host the convention, Cooper said it would be “much more likely” if Republicans agree to scale back their event. Cooper said he did not have a specific number of attendees for a scaled-back event.
“The likelihood of it being in Charlotte depends on the Republican National Committee’s willingness to discuss with us a scaled-down convention,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Republican U.S. Reps. Dan Bishop and Ted Budd of North Carolina and Ralph Norman of South Carolina held a news conference to lobby officials to take steps to keep the convention in Charlotte, citing the event’s economic impact at a time when nearly one million people have filed for unemployment in North Carolina.
“Small businesses are struggling,” Budd said. “We’ve got a great opportunity to come back from one of the worst economic crises. They need the chance to earn the business the RNC is going to provide.”
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 105,000 people nationwide and more than 900 in North Carolina.
Trump will be renominated by Republicans for a second term and accept the nomination on Aug. 27 to close the convention.
Conversations with Trump, RNC
Tuesday’s moves are the latest in an ongoing episode between the RNC and N.C. officials over specifics of the convention.
Cooper said, both in his letter and at the press conference, that in previous discussions during the pandemic GOP officials were more amenable to a scaled-down convention.
But in recent weeks that changed, Cooper said. In a conversation last week with Trump, the president said he wanted a full arena, Cooper said.
“When they say you have to guarantee us 19,000 people in the Spectrum Center for the RNC convention, that’s not something that we can guarantee,” Cooper said.
Cooper wants more information about Republicans’ plans for how they would handle the event. “We would like to see a plan from the RNC on the different events they’re going to have and exactly what kind of steps that they are going to take. What kind of social distancing are they going to put in place. Are they going to require face masks?
“If they run tests to let somebody in a meeting, how are they going to handle that person who tests positive?” Cooper said. “We want to help with that.”
But Republicans have accused Cooper of dragging his feet on the convention by failing to give them specific safety guidelines.
Threats to move convention
On May 25, Memorial Day, Trump threatened to pull the convention from Charlotte in a series of tweets that set off a sustained back-and-forth between convention organizers and North Carolina officials.
Trump tweeted that Republicans needed a “guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the Arena.”
In remarks the next day, Trump backed up his demands, giving Cooper a week to decide during remarks at the White House. The remarks came after Cooper said public health and safety, and not politics, would determine the course of action.
Officials in other states including Georgia, Florida and Texas — all with Republican governors and all which Trump claimed in 2016 — publicly announced they’d be interested in hosting the event if it were to leave Charlotte.
The Republican National Committee awarded the event to Charlotte in July 2018. There were no other serious bidders for the convention.
Safety precautions detailed
On May 26, North Carolina health officials requested a written COVID-19 safety plan with different scenarios.
On May 28, convention leaders sent a letter to Cooper and city and county leaders, outlining their safety precautions, including daily online health care questionnaires and pre-travel health surveys. Attendees would get thermal scans done prior to boarding sanitized, pre-arranged transportation and then get health checks before entering the arena.
“Clear guidelines from your administration are needed,” said the letter writers, McDaniel and Marcia Lee Kelly, the president and CEO of the Republican National Convention.
On May 29, Trump called Cooper to request a full convention with no social distancing or face coverings. The call came after North Carolina officials requested more details from the RNC about its safety precautions.
In a letter to Cooper on Saturday, convention leaders said they wanted 19,000 in attendance and full capacity at nearby bars and restaurants. The letter made no mention of social distancing or face coverings, and demanded an answer by June 3.
“I hope they’ll continue to talk with us about a scaled-down convention,” Cooper told reporters. “We’re ready to discuss that and we’re still waiting for answers to our health questions...
“We cannot guarantee them that in August they can have a full arena, but we want to continue discussions about a scaled-down convention in Charlotte,” he said.
On Monday, Dr. Mandy Cohen, the NC Department of Health and Human Services secretary, signaled a full convention was a non-starter.
“What we know about the spread of the (coronavirus) is that when you are indoors without face coverings and less than six feet apart, the virus spreads,” Cohen said at her daily press briefing.
Members of the Republican National Committee said they want to keep the convention in Charlotte, but want to be able to make their own decisions about safety protocols.
“I’m just really hoping that the governor will trust us. We are adults, we are not going to make unwise decisions. We are not going to be foolish,” said Ginger Howard, the RNC committeewoman from Georgia. “We’re going to be very wise, but we want our convention, and we want it in Charlotte.”
Democrats hosted their 2012 convention in Charlotte when President Barack Obama was re-nominated for a second term.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 1:24 PM.
