MILWAUKEE — When the last full-scale Republican National Convention was held eight years ago, Ohio was still a toss-up state.
The state's delegation, used to being the center of the political universe, had VIP seating on its home turf inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, on the floor just to the right of the stage as Donald Trump was formally nominated for the first time.
The host delegation was based in a downtown hotel not far from the convention center.
Four years earlier, Ohio was seated dead center in front of the arena stage in Tampa, behind only Michigan, when Mitt Romney became the nominee.
Today, the Buckeye State is firmly in red territory. Trump has twice won the state by 8 percentage points, and few expect President Biden to carry Ohio this cycle.
So it might come as little surprise that, as some 50,000 people descend on the 2024 convention in Milwaukee, Ohio's delegates, family members, elected officials, candidates, and party staffers are staying an hour shuttle drive away from the downtown Fiserv Forum where Trump will be formally nominated Thursday.
The delegation is staying at the Abbey Resort in Fontana, located on Lake Geneva about 60 miles away.
"This is my sixth national convention," Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou said. "I went to Milwaukee just to scope things out, and they rolled out the red carpet for us."
He said he's happy with the hotel that will host roughly 300 people attending from Ohio. The delegation plans to take full advantage of the lake practically at its doorstep, including a Tuesday boat ride reception co-hosted by state Sen. Rob McColley (R., Napoleon), possibly the next president of the Ohio Senate.
"Milwaukee doesn't have the bandwidth to have 50 states descend upon it, in terms of inventory of rooms ...," Mr. Triantafilou said. "I'm quite satisfied with our resort. We have a lot of activities on the water planned. Yeah, the bus ride won't be the best part of the trip."
Of course, Ohio could quickly become the center of the political universe if Trump picks U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate. An announcement could come at any time.
Mr. Vance, U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, and Attorney General Dave Yost will all host or co-host various receptions for the Ohio delegation.
The delegation will also hold meetings over breakfast each morning at its hotel.
A total of 2,429 delegates from 56 states and territories will participate with nearly all pledged to Trump. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has released her 97 delegates to line up behind her former boss and primary opponent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, early casualties of the primaries, could count their delegates on their fingers.
Ohio, a winner-takes-all state, enters the Brew City with 79 Trump delegates as well as 68 alternates.
In addition to Mr. DeWine, Mr. Husted, Mr. Yost, and Mr. Moreno, other high-profile delegates include First Lady Fran DeWine, Auditor Keith Faber, and Treasurer Robert Sprague. Ohio will also be represented by the state's two Republican National Committee members — former state chairman and U.S. Senate candidate Jane Timken and businessman Jim Dicke.
As with the coronavirus-induced virtual 2020 convention, each night of the week has a theme. The following schedule was announced before Saturday night’s assassination attempt of Trump, so it was unclear how security changes at the convention might affect it.
● Monday: “Make America Wealthy Once Again,” focusing on economic policies, taxes, trade, inflation, and energy costs.
● Tuesday: “Make America Safe Once Again,” emphasizing law enforcement, illegal border crossings, deportations, and the drug trade.
● Wednesday: “Make America Strong Once Again,” targeting foreign policy, highlighting the Biden Administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Hamas-Israel war, Iran, and China. Trump's vice presidential pick will speak, preceded by Donald Trump, Jr.
● Thursday: “Make America Great Once Again,” coming full circle with Trump formally accepting the party's nomination for the third time.
Tony Schroeder of Glandorf is Putnam County Republican Party chairman, secretary of the Ohio Republican Party, and owner of an Ottawa insurance business. This is his first convention.
“Like any national election of a president, it’s a referendum on the incumbent,” he said. “The idea is to bring change that people are looking for on the economy, inflation, the affordability crisis, the border, and other key issues. We’ve got solid solutions.”
Mr. Schroeder says he’s seen a real surge in the wake of President Biden’s poor debate performance two weeks ago that exacerbated concerns about his age and candidacy ahead of the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago.
“We’ve got a real mess,” he said. “The debate pointed out the issues and contrasts between the candidates. I’m excited that our president is offering alternatives to what we’re seeing coming out of Washington right now.”
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R., Bowling Green), the sole state legislative delegate from northwest Ohio, is attending her first convention. She was to be an alternate in 2020 in Charlotte before it went virtual.
"Our need for Republican leadership has never been more apparent," she said. "There are a lot of issues — the border, the economy, inflation, dealing with drugs and fentanyl. We are really at a crossroads when it comes to our stability and our strength on the world stage."
Initially, Trump was expected to walk into his convention as the first former president sentenced for multiple felonies after his hush-money trial in New York. But the U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing immunity for a president's official acts led to a delay in sentencing.
Ms. Gavarone said the convention should not focus on the convictions and trials — with the exception of stressing that such prosecutions must never happen again.
"As an attorney myself, seeing the justice system weaponized against a political rival is something that should really give pause for anyone in this country," she said.
Beverley Hirzel, a Walbridge delegate who at 78 is attending her first national convention, said the convention should ignore that issue.
"That’s not even in the conversation," she said. "They’re doing the best they can to destroy the man so he could not compete in the political arena. It’s a travesty of justice.”
"Why waste the time on something that isn’t factual and wasn’t completely honest?" she said. "To have a broad jury of people in New York against the person who developed downtown? It wasn’t a fair fight. It wasn’t justice being served.”
Ms. Hirzel is president of the Wood County Republican Women's Club and a precinct chairman. For her, this convention is about comparing Trump of 2017 to 2021 to Mr. Biden's current tenure.
“We will promote his success as president before and show them the differences from now — the economy ... the safety of our nation," she said. "The list is long.”
This is also the first convention for Jim Brennan of Perrysburg, president of Brennan Equipment Services in Holland and son of the late three-time Lucas County Republican Party Chairman James Brennan.
A late bloomer in terms of politics, he has been in Trump’s corner since day one.
“When he first started talking, he was saying the exact same things myself and many people I knew were saying in their kitchens with their wives,” he said. “Pocketbook issues. I think we know the message, the same things we were excited about in 2016 — the economy, making government smaller, keeping taxes low.”
The primary mission for this convention is a demonstration of party unity, which, Mr. Triantafilou said, is already “mission accomplished.”
"It's also to get our grassroots volunteers fired up and active in Ohio,” he said. “The third thing is it's a celebration of our principles, a very patriotic, pro-American movement for all of us."
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