RNC article

The race to the White House is clearly underway, and both Republicans and Democrats have emerged at their respectable conventions.

This year, the 40th Republican National Convention was held in Tampa from Aug. 27-30. There were 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories who gathered for the same purpose—to nominate presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the next president of the United States and his running mate, Paul Ryan, as vice president.

According to an article published in the Bradenton Herald, “nearly 50,000 out-of-state delegates, journalists and party volunteers (were expected to) flock to Hillsborough and its surrounding communities to attend the convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Officials compare the event’s direct economic impact to that of a Super Bowl—putting guests in hotels, filling tables at restaurants and selling tickets to local attractions.”

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell delivered remarks on Aug. 28, the second day of the convention.

“The times call for new leadership to get this great nation out of debt and back to work,” McDonnell said. “We need a president who will say to a small businesswoman, ‘Congratulations! We applaud your success, you did make that happen, you did build that!’”

His outspoken support for Romney was made clear as soon as he spoke about the changes needed in the economy. He described Romney as “someone who has created jobs in the private sector, who understands the economy, and who has actually balanced a budget…for that matter, who has actually passed a budget!”

Ann Romney also addressed the attendants during the convention. However, she was not there to talk about politics or the party.
Instead, she chose to focus on what holds the American family together — what unity is about and what brings great joy when times are good — that is, love.

“What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage,” Ann Romney said. “He has tried to live his life with a set of values centered on family, faith and love of one’s fellow man. From the time we were first married, I’ve seen him spend countless hours helping others. I’ve seen him drop everything to help a friend in trouble, and been there when late-night calls of panic came from a member of our church whose child had been taken to a hospital.”

Other speakers who took part in the convention included Condoleezza Rice, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Clint Eastwood and former presidential runner Rick Santorum.