RNC Prepares to Gather in Florida

Following the results of Tuesday’s New York Primary, many rank-and-file Republicans are curious about this week’s RNC meeting in Hollywood, Florida.

And with so much at stake for the nation, and an as-yet-undecided presidential nomination process still underway, there’s a lot of concern about whether or not party leaders will try to alter the rules before the national convention. The Republican National Convention will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, in mid-July.

Here are some key facts you need to know going into this week’s meetings:

• The RNC consists of 168 members, elected by the delegates of the various state and territorial conventions.
• The biggest story out of the meeting won’t be about delegates, but about the “early voting states”: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
• Last year, there was an attempt to strip those states of their special status, but some reports suggest that might die this week in Florida.
• Regardless, it remains likely Nevada will lose it’s place as a “first four” state in 2020 before the national convention begins.
• Last weekend on CNN’s “State of the Nation,” GOP chairman Reince Priebus said he’s encouraged the Rules Committee “not to make waves” this week in Florida.
• Rule 40(b) can’t be changed this week, but the Standing Committee on Rules can recommend that it be changed just before the convention begins.
• Just because there won’t be any rules changes, that doesn’t mean there won’t be big stories coming out of those meetings.
• The top political reporters in the country will be converging upon Florida, hoping to grab a scoop from one of the closed-door side meetings, so don’t be surprised by an exclusive or two.