MILWAUKEE – Annie Eckrich of Fort Wayne has been to so many Republican National Conventions over the years that she’s not entirely sure if the 2024 convention in Milwaukee is her fifth or sixth.
She has business cards that say she's a six-time Republican National Convention attendee, but Eckrich thinks it might be five. That’s what happens when you’re a die-hard Republican who will turn 89 this November, she said.
“This is five,” she said in the lobby of the Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee on Tuesday dressed in a scarf and shoes with the American flag printed on them. “I think it's five.”
Eckrich is one of 58 Hoosier delegates, and the oldest member of the Indiana delegation in Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention, where Donald Trump is scheduled to formally accept the party’s nomination for president on Thursday.
She sat down with IndyStar ahead of the second day of the convention to talk more about the party’s big events she has attended over the years and what she hopes to see in Milwaukee this week.
This inteview has been edited for space and clarity.
Can you tell me about some of the conventions you have been to?
Eckrich: I went to Detroit because I grew up there. I wasn't a delegate or anything like that, I was just a guest. In Minneapolis, I think I was an alternate. I have not been a delegate. When we went to Cleveland, I must have been an alternate or something. I'm not sure. But we got to sit on the floor and everything like that, so I remember that really well.
What’s special about attending Republican National Conventions especially given the number you have been to?
Eckrich: I just love to talk to everybody. I'm just a jabber mouth. I want to go and look at people that are familiar to me that I see. Last night, the guy from Ohio – (Jim) Jordan. He came by our area and I grabbed onto his hand. Somebody took a picture. And he said, “Who are you?” And I said, “I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana.” He said, “Well, you're just a neighbor. You could come over any time.” I just love to talk to people.
How do you feel about being part of Indiana’s delegation to nominate former President Donald Trump this week?
Eckrich: (Monday) was amazing. I mean, my heart was just full. I mean you wanted to cry, everything was so amazing. You think this guy is God, almost, because his life was saved.
You've seen conventions with Hoosiers on a major stage, like Dan Quayle, Mike Pence and this year Jim Banks. What has that been like?
Eckrich: I feel blessed because I've known of people through family. And sometimes you feel like you know them. I remember walking into Madison Square Garden one time and who was the guy that used to run that Sunday show? Ed Sullivan? And I saw him and I thought “Hi!” I thought he was somebody I knew because you see him every day on Sunday. That's the same way with Jim Jordan yesterday. I said, “I know you.” I mean, you feel like you’re a buddy.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
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