Delaware Valley GOP attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee are participating in one of the most historic political gatherings in recent memory.
It’s the first time that the GOP has nominated the same candidate three times in a row. (Democrats have done it twice, including FDR’s record four nominations.) It’s also the first convention in more than 130 years where a former president will be a major party’s candidate on the ballot.
The circumstances of the convention are also much different. Two days ago, Donald Trump narrowly avoided being killed by an assassin’s bullet in western Pennsylvania.
DelVal delegates said everyone was relieved by how quickly the Secret Service acted, but still wondered how the gunman was able to scale a roof and open fire without being detected.
One bullet grazed Trump’s ear leaving him bloodied. Corey Comperatore, a Butler County firefighter, was killed trying to protect his family. Two other rally attendees are hospitalized in critical condition.
National Committeeman Andy Reilly told DVJournal that minutes before shots rang out, Trump was planning to call Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick to the stage to stand next to him. Trump told McCormick to wait, and moments later bullets flew over McCormick’s head and the heads of several members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.
“Many of the Pennsylvanians who are my colleagues were right next to the stage. Just a very traumatic event,” Reilly said.
McCormick is scheduled to address the RNC on Tuesday.
Saturday’s shooting also turned into a rallying cry for Republicans.
“We have a duty to do. We’re not going to let it stop us,” said RNC delegate Michael Straw.
The consensus from talking to delegates was they want unity around Trump. Delegates vowed they won’t stop fighting for Trump until he’s elected president this November. That means making sure voters know Biden shouldn’t get another term.
“The country is tired of the conditions and the damage that the Biden administration has done domestically and globally,” RNC delegate Ellen Bowman Cox told DVJournal.
Gone are the scenes from 2016 where Republican factions tried but failed to stop Trump’s nomination. It’s also different from 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic canceled most of the convention.
One delegate told DVJournal there’s a lot of resolve among those attending the RNC. That’s due to a combination of events including the shooting, the debate, and the fact that the election is just a few months away.
The other feeling among delegates is confidence.
Trump enjoys a four-point lead over Biden in Pennsylvania, according to the RealClearPolitcs polling average. The polls were conducted after Biden’s poor performance at last month’s presidential debate and before the assassination attempt.
But Straw cautioned Republicans not to get too cocky because elections are won “on Election Day.” With more than 100 days to go, Straw noted a lot could happen. That includes the dwindling chance Democrats convince Biden to end his reelection bid and put up a new candidate.
The Democratic National Convention is next month in Chicago.
Some delegates expressed skepticism that Biden was honest when he said Americans need to “lower the temperature in our politics” on Sunday.
Bowman Cox criticized Biden for condemning violence but then comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and suggesting that he needs to be in the crosshairs.
“It wasn’t if, it was when because violent rhetoric from the left helped this happen the other day,” she said.
