GOP Set to Move 2016 Convention Forward to June

By far the most important move made by members of the Republican National Committee at their summer meeting in Boston was their general agreement that their next national convention should —for the first time in 68 years —be held in June rather than closer to the presidential election

Although no official decison was taken by the GOP's governing body, a vote to set the date of the next national convention must be taken no later than September of 2014, according to the party's by-laws.

Since the the convention that nominated New York Gov. Thomas Dewey for President and California Gov. Earl Warren for vice president was held in late June 1948, the party's national conventions have been moved back to July and August.

Last year, the convention that nominated Mitt Romney was held August 27-30.

"It sure makes a lot of sense to move it up to June again," Delaware State Chairman Charles Copeland told Newsmax on Friday, noting that "this would give us plenty of time to rest, be prepared for debates, and start building up an organization."

He also noted August is a traditonally a vacation month and going back to the tradition of a June convention would not interfere with that. Copeland cited a old saying from stockbrokers: "Sell in May, then go away."

Connecticut Republican National Committeeman John Frey, who has been going to national conventions since 1992, told Newsmax: "You just don't have enough time to rebound after Labor Day. Holding a convention in June would give our nominee more time to win undecided voters over."

Other RNC members said that the party's decision to hold a convention at the end of August in 2012 was also the reason it was held in hot and sticky Tampa just as a hurricane was passing. Other cities with better convention facilities and more accessible hotels were unavailable at that time.

Tampa was criticized by numerous party activists for the number of hotels near the convention center, with many delegates forced to take buses or rent cars to get from their hotels to the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

"I love it!" Ohio's venerable State Chairman Bob Bennett said of the idea of holding a convention in June. Bennett told us he plans to push hard for his hometown of Cleveland as the next convention site. Along with a brand new 650-room hotel near its main arena, , Cleveland is in Ohio, the state of  that all winning presidential candidates in the last century except one (John Kennedy in 1960) have had to carry.

With National Chairman Reince Priebus making clear his support of the next convention in June, the full RNC is likely to make this official at its winter meeting in Janaury of next year.