Since the US presidential election is held every four years in November, Republicans and Democrats hold televised conventions to nominate their candidates for president and vice president.
With the election just months away, the Republican Party is planning to hold a Republican National Convention for the 2024 elections on July 15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Notably, Wisconsin is a swing state with 10 Electoral College votes, as reported Al Jazeera.
Donald Trump has been the party's de facto nominee for months following the Republican primaries.
In the United States, primary elections are held to choose presidential candidates every four years. Elections can be closed, allowing only respected party members to vote for the candidate, or open, allowing voters to choose candidates without any party affiliation.
Primaries can also be direct or indirect. In a direct primary, voters decide their party's candidates, and in an indirect primary, voters elect delegates who, in turn, elect a party's candidates at a nominating convention. In most U.S. states, primaries are held 6 to 9 months before an election.
How long will the convention last?
The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will be held from July 15-18.
Where will the convention take place?
Several venues have been selected for the convention, including the Baird Center, Fiserv Forum (a basketball arena), and the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (a hockey and football stadium).
How many people are expected to attend the convention?
Some 50,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event, including politicians, media officials, law enforcement officials and staff.
The general public will not be attending the event, as it will be a high-profile experience with several days of speeches, including a final address by Trump.
Of the 50,000 attendees, 2,429 will be state delegates who will attend the event on behalf of their respective states and vote for the candidate running for president.
What can we expect from the convention?
The main purpose of a convention is the nomination process, but it is also a political event where the party platform is confirmed. In particular, the party platform sets out the agenda that the party should work towards.
How does the nomination process work?
Republicans and Democrats use a system of primaries and caucuses to select their presidential nominee, but the U.S. Constitution does not specify how a party must select its candidates.
The results of the primaries and caucuses determine how many state delegates a candidate receives. That number of delegates then votes for the candidate at the convention.
Trump has exactly 2,265 delegates after winning all the primaries and caucuses despite the difficulties. He only lost the state elections in New Hampshire and Washington DC.
