The North Carolina Republican Party Convention gets underway this afternoon in Greensboro with headline speakers including Former President Donald Trump, Former Vice President Mike Pence, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The four-day convention will be held at the Koury Convention Center. There will be more than a dozen training sessions including fundraising, get out the vote, and faith engagement, and presentations by the North Carolina Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Faith and Freedom Coalition, and others.
The list of notable statewide political guests is a long one, but Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer says this weekend is a crucial first test for the three presidential contenders slated to speak.
“The big question in my mind is, this convention is made up of the party loyalists, the true activists within the Republican Party. Are they still loyal to the former president, or are they open to somebody who presents the former president’s policies but is a different person than the original.”
Bitzer says he doesn’t see a Republican electoral college coalition being built that does not include North Carolina.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden who is seeking re-election will spend Friday in the Tar Heel State highlighting some of his administration’s initiatives. More details here: President and First Lady in Eastern North Carolina on Friday, focusing on workforce training and military families