Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Las Vegas withdraws its bid for the 2016 Republican National Convention

Las Vegas withdrew its bid today to host the Republican National Convention in 2016 and will try again in 2020, according to a letter from Nevada leaders.

Las Vegas wouldn’t have enough time to prepare for the convention and doesn’t have an arena capable of seating delegates and guests, according to a letter sent by Brian Krolicki, Nevada's lieutenant governor and Nevada 2016 Host Committee Chairman, to the Republican National Committee.

The decision is a crushing blow to Nevada Republicans hoping to play host to the party’s political elites and deliver a boost to the city's economy. To hold the convention on the home turf of Democrat Harry Reid would have been a symbolic victory for Republicans. With Nevada’s swing state status, Republicans could have used the convention to lure the Hispanic vote.

In the effort to win the bid, Republicans touted the city’s 150,000 hotel rooms, swaths of convention space and entertainment options. But the city’s reputation for bad behavior was a looming question mark for the RNC. From the beginning of the bid, religious and other conservative groups urged the RNC to axe Las Vegas from the list. American Bridge, a Democrat research outfit in Washington, vowed to arm operatives with cameras and send them undercover to capture any Republicans participating in promiscuous activities.

The remaining finalists are Kansas City, Cleveland, Denver and Dallas.

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