The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced last summer that the 2016 RNC Convention would be held in Cleveland, Ohio. Thursday night, however, they blasted out official dates:
The Republican National Committee has selected July 18-21 as the official dates for the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio."I'm pleased to announce the 2016 Republican National Convention will kick off on July 18," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. "A convention in July is a historic success for our party and future nominee. The convention will be held significantly earlier than previous election cycles, allowing access to crucial general election funds earlier than ever before to give our nominee a strong advantage heading into Election Day.
“We're excited to continue working with our partners in Cleveland and we look forward to showcasing everything the city has to offer to our delegates and the world in 2016.”
This will likely be hailed as an across-the-board smart decision. In 2012, for example, the convention wasn’t convened until almost September, which made it annoyingly difficult for the nominee to spend precious funds on the general election when doing so would have been most effective.
Meanwhile, the RNC will likely hold somewhere between six and 12 presidential primary debates -- cutting the total number of debates roughly in half from 2012.
This is good news all around.