Remembering the RNC's ill-fated romance with Nashville
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The 2024 Republican National Convention, which ends Thursday in Milwaukee, has had multiple ties to Tennessee, from speakers like U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Gov. Bill Lee to the band playing on stage.
- But that's a far cry from what many of the state's top leaders envisioned two years ago, when Nashville was a leading candidate to host the convention.
Flashback: In early 2022, Music City looked like it could be the Republicans' top pick for a host city.
- Lee and former Gov. Bill Haslam appeared jointly at a reception for party leaders around that time that included a "Rocky Top" performance, according to Politico.
- "We love Nashville," then-Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel said at the event.
- Committee members visited Nashville in February of that year, per the Tennessean.
Reality check: We all know what happened next.
- Citing safety concerns, the largely liberal Metro Council, led by then-Council member Bob Mendes, rebuffed the effort to bring the RNC to town.
The big picture: The high-profile rejection outraged Republican leaders in the General Assembly and led to intense in-fighting between the state government and the capital city.
- When state lawmakers returned to work in 2023, they pushed a raft of bills targeting Nashville. Many considered the legislation retribution for rejecting the RNC.
- Lawmakers sought to shrink the Metro Council and to reshape the airport board and the sports authority.
State of play: Although tensions between Nashville and state leaders cooled this year, fallout from the contentious 2023 legislative session is ongoing.
What's next: While the effort to cut the council's size was temporarily delayed in court, a final decision about the council's future is still forthcoming.
- Other laws targeting Nashville also led to litigation, including control of the airport's board of directors and the Metro Council vote threshold for fairgrounds racetrack improvements.
What we're watching: Early last year, then-Mayor John Cooper expressed interest in Nashville hosting the RNC or Democratic convention in 2028.
- Republicans picked Houston as the host city for 2028. Democrats haven't announced where their 2028 convention will be held.
Former President Trump is scheduled to close out the 2024 RNC with a speech Thursday night.
- Read Axios' guide for details, including how to watch the convention.