‘Gracious hosts’: Dem mayor rolls out the welcome mat for the RNC

The success of the first Republican primary debate this month hinges in part on the support of one Democrat: Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the city's first elected Black mayor.

Republicans have been on the attack for months against “crime-ridden” cities run by Democrats. But it’s kumbaya when it comes to putting on big events like this month's debate and next year's nominating convention.

“We’re going to be gracious hosts because that’s what you should be,” Johnson said in an interview with POLITICO. “We’re asking everyone to be on their best behavior.”

“As a Democrat, could I have stood up and said ‘We’re not going to be welcoming to the RNC’ or ‘We don’t want them in our community’? I mean, I could have done that. But that’s the easy way out,” Johnson said.

Top of mind for both Republicans and Democrats in Milwaukee ahead of the debate is security. Johnson and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel are paying attention to where debate protesters might gather and how traffic patterns play out at the debate, something that will inform planning for next year's convention. So far, Milwaukee has had no permit applications for protests.

The biggest question surrounding debate planning right now is whether former President Donald Trump will attend. So far, he has not said either way. The Secret Service has been on hand to prepare just in case, according to the mayor’s office.

Johnson was helping court the RNC for Milwaukee even before his election in April 2022. He took a break from the campaign trail to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with McDaniel to help make a pitch for Milwaukee to host the convention.

Helping out the RNC isn't pure altruism — such events are big opportunities for the mayors themselves. Cities that host big political events get boosts to business and tourism.

City officials are champing at the bit to put on a successful debate and convention after the 2020 Democratic convention, which was supposed to take place in Milwaukee, pivoted to an online event because of the pandemic.

The way Johnson sees it, “Americans — not just people in Milwaukee or Wisconsin but across the United States — want to see us come back to normal to a place where we can disagree but not be disagreeable.”

As part of his preparation for working with the RNC, Johnson said he spoke with Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Vi Lyles, about how to navigate the convention. Republicans held their 2020 convention in Charlotte, and like Johnson, Lyles is a Black Democrat leading a host city. Her advice, “Even when there’s political disagreement, that does not mean you have to turn your nose up.”

Still, that event was rife with tension as the RNC and Democrats in North Carolina haggled over Covid safety measures.

Johnson and McDaniel both view the August debate as an unofficial kickoff of campaign season, and see it culminating with the nominating convention in July 2024.

Some 300 businesses — from entertainment venues to caterers, salons and T-shirt makers — have signed up to woo Republican delegates, who will have an annual meeting in the days surrounding the Aug. 23 debate.

McDaniel praised the planning effort in a statement: “Our partnership with Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, the Milwaukee Host Committee, and Visit Milwaukee will undoubtedly deliver a great debate and convention, where we will nominate the next president of the United States in the Badger State.”