Nashville RNC Contract Withdrawn
The lone city competing with Milwaukee for convention struggling to pass host agreement.
Milwaukee City Hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Milwaukee’s bid to host the 2024 Republican National Convention got a boost Tuesday evening.
A proposal before the 40-member Nashville Metro Council, the city’s legislative body, to approve a contract to host the convention was withdrawn by its sponsors. The city’s newspaper, The Tennessean, reported that the legislation would be reworked, but that it couldn’t be approved in time for the Aug. 5 Republican National Committee meeting where the party is expected to announce the host city.
The Milwaukee host committee also imposed a deadline on the council members to get a deal done. Gerard Randall, head of the host committee, said the RNC was asking for the city deal to be approved by June 3, a claim that drew opposition from some council members. The Nashville media has never reported such a demand being made of the Tennessee city.
The host committee is responsible for raising more than $50 million to host the convention. The security costs of the convention, approximately $50 million, are to be entirely covered by a federal grant. The city contract approval is required to get the grant.
Similar to Milwaukee’s Democratic National Convention agreement, the city-RNC agreement requires Milwaukee to coordinate a number of security patrols and escorts, provide safes or other secured containers for storage, create a free speech protest area, provide a network for security cameras, maintain free streetcar service and broadcast the convention on the City Channel (online and on channel 25). It also prohibits the city from selling virtually all convention merchandise and indemnified the committee from the city (and vice versa). The city must also work to secure parking for no less than 350 buses and 2,500 vehicles during the convention.
More about the 2024 RNC
- RNC Report Says Convention Had $321 Million Economic Impact - Jeramey Jannene - May 20th, 2025
- No Charges Against Columbus Police in RNC Shooting - Isiah Holmes - May 6th, 2025
- Tourism Spending Dipped During Republican Convention in Milwaukee - Evan Casey - Mar 18th, 2025
- Host Committee Raised $92 Million for RNC in Milwaukee - Evan Casey - Nov 27th, 2024
- Officials Admit RNC Issues, But Say Event Was Success - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 1st, 2024
- Council members seeking information on fatal shooting during RNC, details on convention-related arrests, economic impact - Milwaukee Common Council - Jul 23rd, 2024
- Photo Gallery: Scenes from the RNC - Urban Milwaukee - Jul 19th, 2024
- Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock and Donald Trump, Final Day of RNC Veered All Over - Jeramey Jannene - Jul 19th, 2024
- Trump to Wisconsin – ‘I Am Trying To Buy Your Vote’ - Jeramey Jannene - Jul 18th, 2024
- ‘Everyday American’ Diane Hendricks Touts Trump, Her Life Story in RNC Speech - Jeramey Jannene - Jul 18th, 2024
Read more about 2024 RNC here
Nashville ducked out on that one! There’s not a single republican pol in Wisconsin that isn’t literally bat$hit crazy. What else can the anti-government party do, but admire themselves and stroke their guns?
Wherever these $hithead$ end up, it’ll be a $hit$how. Feel sorry for MKE that they think this will bring an economic boost. But just like their americanized Jesus coming back, it ain’t gonna happen.
The Republican convention will put Milwaukee in the global spotlight for over a week… This will be a larger event than the Milwaukee Bucks championship… What a tremendous opportunity to showcase the City of Milwaukee to the world.
Put on your biggest smile and treat every Republican you meet with kindness, respect, and Milwaukee hospitality.
P.S. Make sure that every out of State Republican gets a chance to charter a chinook salmon fishing trip on Lake Michigan… The chinook will be fat, feisty, and strong enough to snap your arms off during the month of August.
It’s clear that Nashville’s political leadership is much wiser than MKE’s. Hosting will be a money-loser for all but a small sector of the economy, mainly a few restaurants and hotel chains that will jack up their prices while holding wages to real workers the same. Since Republicans are historically much lower tippers than Democrats, there will be little gain for any grunt workers other than, possibly, Lyft and Uber drivers. Other restaurants and food trucks will actually lose money because of the huge security zone around downtown that will allow no parking and huge logistical problems so that other tourists and suburbanites will be inconvenienced and shun downtown. The most discouraging thing about this is that it’s now obvious that Chevy Johnson and his administration will continue the City Hall smooching of Tim Sheehy’s right-wing, suburban ass rather than advocating for MKE’s underpaid working class.
Wonder how much the city was threatened by the state legislature to approve the contract – I bet if the city refused, the legislature probably would have cut even more support for the city.
I fear now that we’ve won this convention. Years ago this would have been great. But now this group is so full of hate and privilege that I hate to see our city associated with it. Besides unfairly packing the Supreme Court, embraced lies, they have worked to erode confidence in elections, dogwhistle racism, run up deficits to lower taxes, unabashedly gerrymandered districts in their favor, and only offer insincere thoughts and prayers to increasing gun violence.
If it comes, I’ll be leaving town to avoid the stench.
Milwaukee should withdraw its offer. These people have declared war on our democratic republic. It’s not worth selling the City’s soul for a few bucks.
NWK… ha, good one!
I literally live next to a friggin’ nazi! Last time we talked, he extolled how “little Germany” won all those medals against the world when those “good folks” hosted the Olympics, ergo clearly they are the superior race…
He has the every right to be an ahole, but I will never have him over to break bread. F that $hit.