(NewsNation) — Milwaukee, Wisconsin is another step closer to hosting the 2024 Republican convention, after being unanimously recommended by a site selection committee.
Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee, is leading the charge in securing the convention. Although the city was supposed to host the Democratic National Convention in 2020, because of the coronavirus, it was held entirely online.
“We’d really like to see a convention through to fruition,” Williams-Smith said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Morning in America.”
The Republican National Committee will still need to officially approve the location when it meets Aug. 2-5 in Chicago. Nashville is still in the running, although officials have expressed qualms about security issues, the economic trade-off of largely shutting down an already-bustling downtown except for convention activity, and the implications of tying up city resources to tend to the event.
Some progressive leaders have even argued that hosting the massive Republican party goes against Nashville’s values.
Milwaukee’s mayor, Cavalier Johnson, is a Democrat. But Williams-Smith said the mayor understands the importance of tourism to both the city and state’s economy.
“Our governor understands that, as well. And I’ve been very fortunate for them to be champions of tourism,” she said. “And that’s what this is. It’s tourism. It’s bringing 45,000 people, many of whom have never seen our city, into Milwaukee.”
To address any security issues, Williams-Smith said, they have a “very capable” law enforcement team that has handled rallies before.
“I think that we’ve had enough practice runs to be able to handle something of this magnitude and this size,” she said.
And having enough hotel rooms won’t be a problem, either, Williams-Smith added.
“We know that we are ready to be able to host a convention,” she told “Morning in America.” “To have 15,000 journalists such as yourself in our city, telling our stories, letting the world know what we’ve always known: that we’re an amazing city to live, work and visit.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
