Republican National Convention delegate Kay Rendleman and her fellow Coloradans crowded around state party chair Dave Williams during the Republican roll call vote in Milwaukee on Monday, ready to take part in the final step to making Donald Trump officially the Republican presidential nominee.
“Our delegation, with unity and purpose while responding out president’s call to fight, fight, fight, unanimously votes for the 45th and soon to be 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Williams proclaimed to applause and a chant of “God save Trump.”
All 37 of Colorado’s delegates went to Trump.
“It’s just extremely exciting,” said Rendleman about being on the floor with thousands of other delegates from across the country, “Just all with the same purpose and passion to support President Trump and getting him reelected and, you know, our vision of making America great again.”
Alternate Heidi Ganahl summed up the convention for Colorado Matters like this: “This is half pep rally to get everyone excited and invigorated for the election ahead, and then it's half process and procedures and making sure that we're doing everything tactically that we're supposed to do.”
Ganahl, the former Republican gubernatorial nominee, is attending the convention with her “almost 80-year-old father,” who’s there as a voting delegate.
Colorado will fight, fight, fight … pic.twitter.com/UGHGtKXLKh
— Colorado Republican Party (@cologop) July 16, 2024
The primary focus of the convention may be to launch the Trump-Vance ticket, but it’s also an opportunity for delegates to spend time with people who share the same Republican vision for America.
Rendleman’s convention history spans five decades. She attended her first RNC in 1980 as a campaign staffer for Ronald Regan. Her next trip back was in 2016, where there was a short-lived floor fight over nominating Trump.
Now, with the former president firmly in control of the party, from its officials to its platform, that’s far from the case this time.
The recent assassination attempt against their candidate has been very much on delegates' minds. “Certainly it helped unify the party more,” Rendleman observed.
Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who is also at the convention, got to talk with Trump earlier this week.
“It's so good to see him in the flesh and hear him,” she said. “We almost lost him and that was a very emotional time for me and millions of other people.”
“I'm encouraged and optimistic about bringing more people into our big tent of the Republican party,” Boebert told CPR News. “It's wonderful to see Republicans getting along and behind one message.”
Boebert is one of the few elected Coloradans at the RNC this year, a political reality given the state's current blue hue.
She said she’s “thrilled” about Trump’s pick for vice president: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who replaced former Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket. Pence certified the 2020 election results, something Vance said he would not have done. And if Pence was chosen in 2016 to help ease concerns of skeptical Republicans, the selection of Vance is a further demonstration of Trump’s confident hold over the party.
“I believe [Vance] is someone who will help us with the America First agenda,” said Boebert, also pointing to his opposition to “forever wars.”
This is Boebert’s first real convention. When the COVID pandemic upended the 2020 conventions, Trump ended up giving his nomination acceptance speech on the South Lawn of the White House with Boebert in the much smaller crowd.
Like Rendleman, Boebert said she loves the energy and excitement that comes from being surrounded by the people attending this political event, adding everyone should try to run to be a delegate at some point in their lives.
“I think they inspire me more than I could ever inspire them,” she said.
And while everyone there is looking forward to Trump’s acceptance speech tonight, delegate Rendelman says she’s also enjoyed hearing everyday Americans sharing their stories from their stage.
All in all, Rendleman is confident that, when they leave Milwaukee, Republicans will have something positive to pitch to voters over the next few months.
“I think that we're coming back with a really strong, easy-to-understand platform that provides a direction for our party that's exciting,” she said.
The party will likely also leave Milwaukee with a boost in the polls, which often happens after conventions.
Democrats hold their convention in mid-August in Chicago.
