Tampa Has Edge as GOP Sets to Name 2012 Convention Site

The Grand Old Party appears to be in search of some Florida sunshine for its next grand conclave.

The Republican National Committee is scheduled to announce late Wednesday the winner of a three-city competition to host the 2012 Republican National Convention.

The three finalists are twice-snubbed Tampa, Fla.; Salt Lake City; and Phoenix. Intra-party political turmoil apparently has clouded the prospects of the latter two, leaving Tampa civic leaders cautiously hopeful.

“I’m afraid to say how I feel,” Al Austin, chairman of Tampa’s host committee, tells the St. Petersburg Times. “We’ve waited so long and we’ve been disappointed before. I’m trying to keep my mind clear and not think about it. There isn’t a darn thing we can do until the decision’s made.”

Salt Lake City’s prospects clouded over during the weekend when Utah Republicans at their state convention denied GOP incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett a place on the party’s primary ballot in favor of more self-described conservative candidates Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee. Bridgewater and Lee will face off in a primary on June 22.

Adding to the dim prospects for a Utah convention is the prominent presence in the GOP presidential field of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose family hails from the state.

The Arizona picture is even more complex, as the state’s new immigration law has prompted calls for a boycott of the state from across the nation.
However, at least one conservative radio talker, bucking conventional wisdom, sees this as a plus for Arizona.

Roger Hedgecock, writing for the website World Net Daily, insists that, “if the Republican Party wants to win the election this year, it must take a stand to rally the majority of Americans who increasingly oppose Obamaism and want the Constitution, an opportunity society, and a free-market economy restored in America.”

He continues: “In the face of calls for the boycott of all things Arizonan, the RNC should immediately award the 2012 Republican National Convention to Phoenix.”

U.S. News and World Report writes that Tampa has clearly out-lobbied its rivals, going so far as to define the Florida city’s effort as “an all-out offensive.”

NBC’s political blog First Read sums it up this way: “With Latinos boycotting Arizona and with (Mitt) Romney still considered the GOP front-runner (just how many stories on the Mormon Church would the media do if Republicans held their convention in Salt Lake with Romney as the nominee?), it seemingly looks like Tampa is going to be the pick by process of elimination.”