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National conventions don’t really pick the presidential candidates anymore, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be drama later this summer when Republicans meet in July and Democrats follow suit in August.
In 1996, Rep. Mike Bayham was elected as a 21-year-old Republican delegate for Pat Buchanan, and he stuck with his guy at the convention in San Diego that year despite pressure to back U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, who became the party’s nominee.
“Oh God, they threatened me so bad if I didn’t go for Dole,” Bayham recalls. “But Dole didn’t run in Louisiana. He didn’t participate in the caucus.”
It was one of three occasions when Bayham went to a convention and didn’t back the nominee. But don’t expect that to happen again when the GOP gathers July 15-18 in Milwaukee to nominate former President Donald Trump—kicking off festivities just four days after the presumptive nominee’s sentencing for a so-called hush money conviction, slated for July 11.
On the other side of our political spectrum, Democrats will formally approve President Joe Biden’s reelection bid August 19-22 in Chicago.
For new Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Randal Gaines, who will be attending his fourth convention, these gatherings are basically an “informative pep rally” to get everyone pumped up for the campaign’s home stretch. There’s music, balloons and celebrity sightings, along with the chance to network with like-minded politicos from across the country.
“It is one of the most exciting and energy-charged environments you could ever be in,” Gaines says.
Woody Jenkins, who directs governmental affairs for Treasurer John Fleming and is a convention veteran going back to serving as a page to Morton Blackwell in 1964, says conventions provide opportunities to recognize party leaders and find out about the up-and-comers.
He noted that he and Fleming, as delegates this year, will have a chance to connect with a group of other conservative fiscal officials that they normally are able to see only over Zoom.
“It’s gotten expensive,” Jenkins says. “It’s probably $4,000 or $5,000 for a typical delegate to go.”
While this year’s convention details are still being ironed out, party leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise typically have formal roles, including speaking time. We do know, however, that Johnson will chair the GOP convention and preside over various party matters.
The list of ancillary events around both conventions will grow in the coming weeks. Scalise, for example, is affiliated with an event celebrating the House Republican Conference, and he’s an invited guest to an event with U.S. Sen. John Barrasso that Wednesday at the Historic Pabst Brewery.
As for those who know full well politics never really sleeps, there’s the storied Warehouse Party, an invitation-only after-hours event typically held near the RNC. Over on the Democratic side in Chicago in August, Gaines recommends keeping an eye on the House of Blues for some must-see performances and can’t-miss networking.
While the list of delegates is lengthy, quite a few notable names float off the page. Some of the Democratic delegates include U.S. Rep. Troy Carter; state Senate President Pro Tem Regina Barrow; state Sen. Gary Carter; state Reps. Kyle Green, Mandie Landry, Delisha Boyd and Denise Marcelle; and Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis. Some of the GOP delegates are Gov. Jeff Landry; state Sens. Mike Fesi and Rick Edmonds; Reps. Beth Billings, Julie Emerson and Kathy Edmonston; and Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
