The last three Presidential contenders—George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney—have all announced that they are skipping the Republican National Convention.
At the rate GOP bigwigs are dropping out of the convention, Cleveland may actually see a drop in tourism.
Mitt Romney announced Thursday that he’d skip the convention (though, arguably, he might have preferred to skip the last one, too), and George W. Bush and his father George H. W. Bush have also dropped out. The latter claims to have “retired from politics,” though he probably would have donned some Jeb! socks had his other son won the nod, but neither of the “party elders” seem to have the slightest interest in endorsing Donald Trump (though, in some Republican circles, that might actually be a mark in Trump’s favor). Romney has only spoken privately.
John McCain will stay in Arizona, where he’s been forced to campaign, since Democrats discovered they could flip his seat. He’s worried, naturally, that Trump at the top of the ticket will mean fewer votes in down-ticket races, and his opponent, Ann Kirkpatrick will likely get an influx of cash toward the end of the summer if Democrats still smell blood.
To round out the slate of former Republican Presidential candidates, the last one to run against a Clinton, Bob Dole, has been silent (though Dole did say he liked Donald Trump better than Ted Cruz).
Many of the 16 Presidential contenders—the ones who are now seeking alternative employment—have been mum, but it’s probably safe to say that Dr. Ben Carson will be at the convention, serving as a terrible surrogate for the Trump campaign. Chris Christie’s leash will likely be tied to a post outside the Quicken Loans Arena (stop by and give him water, if you can—Ohio gets hot in July). Rick Perry and Mike Huckabee have both expressed excitement at the prospect of a Trump nomination, Rick Perry because he has little to do, and Mike Huckabee because his public support of Trump has made him relevant for the first time since the mid-1990s.
Rubio, Cruz and Kasich, the three final contenders, will decide in the coming weeks whether they’d like to have anything to do with the nomination process going forward. Lindsey Graham announced he would not attend the convention on Friday afternoon.
Finally, I do not plan to attend the Republican convention in Cleveland this summer. (8)
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 6, 2016
Most importantly, some of the major donors to the Republican Party, including the Koch Brothers are “soft nos” on attending. The RNC has always been a place for big donors to throw around their weight and hold public meetings with candidate finance committees, helping to determine the strategy behind the final push to November. There’s reportedly little interest among major donors in occupying their regular suites.
Trump has promised quite the show in July, however, even if Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie are the only ones there to see it.
