Source: Politics<\/p>\n
MILWAUKEE \u2014 Republicans are setting up their 2024 convention so that delegates don\u2019t have to set foot in the blue state of Illinois.<\/p>\n
Convention organizers say all the state delegations will stay at hotels within Wisconsin\u2019s borders \u2014 and they\u2019re nudging them to fly in and out of the Milwaukee airport \u2014 when Republicans meet next year to nominate their presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
Accomplishing this is no small feat. Milwaukee is a comparatively smaller city than the nearby Chicago, and it\u2019s challenging to find enough hotel rooms for the large-scale political event.<\/p>\n
Most convention delegates will stay in Milwaukee, though some may find themselves taking a train from Kenosha, 40 miles south of Milwaukee, or a bus from Madison, 80 miles west \u2014 even if some far-flung Chicago suburbs might make more sense for some travelers. But for Republicans, it\u2019s worth it to demonstrate that they\u2019re committed to the crucial swing state of Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIllinois is not a state that is politically in our corner, right? So being that Wisconsin is a key swing state, the decision to be here in its entirety was intentional,\u201d Elise Dickens, CEO of the Republican National Convention, told POLITICO in an interview.<\/p>\n
Dickens credited Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel with crossing the ideological line to coordinate with Milwaukee\u2019s Democratic mayor, Cavalier Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know Milwaukee is a blue community, and we wanted to show up. There\u2019s a lot of opportunity here and we\u2019ve invested in this state for a very long time,\u201d Dickens said.<\/p>\n
Conventions over the years have famously struggled with proximity. Delegates have long had to commute long distances, far from the downtown floor action of the televised events. That will still be the case for Republicans in 2024, though organizers are emphasizing that they will have the benefit of staying in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n