Another one I have considered is Iowa. The rats should NOT have won that last time. They lost North Carolina and Indiana from the first go-around. Iowa is a largely rural state. There is no excuse to keep losing it.
But I think turning Colorado around is a priority.
We did something similar to Iowa in 2008 when the GOP held it in Minnesota, trying to win a rural midwestern state that they always come THISCLOSE to taking, but lose to the RATs.
As for Iowa, even though it never hosts the national conventions, both major parties kiss their butts every presidential election because they’re the first-in-the-nation primary state. I was in Ames, Iowa in 2007 for the straw poll, and it was a circus. Not only was every hotel in town booked, but so were all the hotels in the 3 surrounding towns.
I’m not sure where they would hold such a national convention though. Des Moines? Ceder Rapids? Even though pale compared to Minneapolis in ‘08. Iowa will likely never host a national convention because it’s like having one in Montana.
I love the suggestions is post #18 and #19 for things we could do in Denver to drive the RATs insane. The national convention is basically an infomercial, they should take advantage of it and make the RATs look bad.
Iowa doesn’t really have any “cities” at least not comparability speaking. A convention in Des Moines? Not unless it involves corn.
If you want down home, midwest, then Kansas city is the option on this list.
Dallas is the lone southern option. Major for Cruz if he’s on the ticket. #1 source of Hispanic support for the party.
I like the idea of Denver for reasons Billyboy points out.
3 Ohio cities on a list of 8? Damn.
I would not rule out a state as important as Ohio just because Portman would probably have a greater presence at the convo then he would if it were held somewhere else. Unless the party gives up on being pro-family and allows the pro-fag contingent to run wild and speak out of turn, then Portman would not be allowed to give a speech on gay marriage, he’d give one on the economy or something. Like gay Rep. Jim Kolbe gave a speech on free trade in 2000.
If they do let the pro-nancies speak out of turn then Portman is the least of our worries.
Vegas? The small but dedicated band of mostly southern so-cons that hate gambling would probably have a hissy fit. Smaller state than CO but another one we need to turn around. Good place if you want an “upbeat” theme. The delegates would love it, clearly. They party regardless but they might go overboard. Heaven help us if a prominent delegate is caught making a trip to the one of the legal brothels instead of having the good sense to just stay in town and break the law in the privacy of his hotel room.