A political party holds a national meeting called a convention before a presidential election. At that meeting, representatives from each state, called delegates, announce which candidate they have chosen to run for president.

The candidate also may announce his or her choice for a running mate, who would be vice president.

At the convention, members of the party also discuss the party’s platform, or its ideas and goals about different issues facing the country.

This year, the Republican National Convention takes place July 15 through 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Fiserv Forum, a large arena. It is expected that the party’s nominee for president will be former President Donald J. Trump.

Trump became president in 2016. In 2020, Joseph R. Biden was elected. He is expected to be the Democratic nominee in 2024.

Past conventions

The first national political conventions were held about 185 years ago, in the 1830s.

At one time in our history, no one knew who the nominee would be until after the convention. Delegates voted for whichever candidate they wanted. In fact, in 1968, The Mini Page® © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication Democratic delegates chose a candidate who had won no primary elections!

This will be Milwaukee’s first time hosting the convention.

Meet Milwaukee

Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin, a north-central state. About 600,000 people live there. The city lies on the shores of Lake Michigan. 

Indigenous peoples have lived in the area for many thousands of years, including Ojibwe and Potawatomi tribes. Later, French explorers settled in the area. Many German immigrants came to the region in the mid- 1800s looking for inexpensive farmland.

Milwaukee still celebrates a German Fest and Oktoberfest each year.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks play major league baseball and basketball in the city. Residents enjoy the Milwaukee River, many parks, forests and nature centers.

Milwaukee has warm, humid summers and cold winters with lots of snow.