Takeaways from the Republican National Convention

MILWAUKEE — Over the course of four days, in battleground Wisconsin, Republicans gathered for the GOP national convention seeking to project unity behind their presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.

Eight years ago, when Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, he faced a party split over his nomination — the “Never Trump” movement fought bitterly to keep him off the ticket and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stopped short of delivering an endorsement from the convention stage, instead urging the party then to “vote your conscience.”

This year’s convention underscored how much the Republican party has been shaped by Trump — the “Never Trump” movement has been all but vanquished, Cruz and a number of former rivals gave passionate speeches in support of Trump, and Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump now serves as co-chair of the national party.

“I don’t know of any other individual that has ever had such control over an actual political party the way Donald Trump has right now, certainly [Ronald] Reagan didn't have his ironclad control,” former Long Island congressman Pete King of Seaford told Newsday. “Donald Trump has basically lined up everything behind him.”

Here are four takeaways from this year’s Republican National Convention.

Courting Black and Latino voters

Republicans ramped up their appeals to Black and Latino voters throughout the week, particularly on the first day of the convention when the speakers list included a roster of Black elected officials considered to be some of the party’s rising stars including Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the sole Black Republican in the US Senate, Rep. Byron Daniels of Florida, and North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.

The night also featured model Amber Rose, 40, who rose to fame appearing in rap music videos, and Bob Unanue, the chief executive officer of Goya Foods, one of the largest Hispanic-owned corporations in the country.

All spoke on a night devoted to economic messaging, arguing that Trump’s economic policies will generate a stronger economy. Their speeches come as national polls show Trump making inroads with Black voters, particularly Black male voters.  

A series of New York Times/Siena College polls conducted in May in key battleground states found 20% of Black voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reported they planned to vote for Trump in November. Such levels of support, if they hold up on Election Day, would be the highest a GOP presidential candidate has received from Black voters since enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the Times.

Biden won 92% of the Black vote in 2020, compared with Trump’s 8%. In a tight-election year, political analysts contend that Biden cannot afford to lose support from this core bloc of his base.

State GOP Chairman Ed Cox, speaking to Newsday after the delegation’s Thursday morning breakfast, said the party was working hard to step up outreach to minority communities, and cited Trump’s South Bronx rally as part of a big push to reach Black and Hispanic voters.

“We believe the Black vote and Hispanic vote is coming our way, especially because President Trump is bringing a message that we are the party of working men and women,” Cox said.

Staying on message 

Republican speakers at the convention have sought to home in on issues like the economy, immigration and public safety, but have largely avoided controversial issues like abortion access and the Trump administration’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Larry Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said it remains to be seen how the convention’s messages hit with moderate suburban swing voters, like those on Long Island, who are critical to any candidate’s victory.

“At least in prime-time and press briefings, as opposed to the firebrands who appear on the stage when virtually the only people watching are MAGA loyalists, Republicans have tried to tone down the red-meat rhetoric,” Levy told Newsday. “If this really is the start of a pivot toward moderate suburban swing voters who decided the 2020 election by rejecting Trump, we will have a better idea when we actually hear from the candidate himself. He is the only voice that matters. But appealing to moderate suburban voters, who tend to shy away from extremism in style and substance, is not something that Trump has done well enough since 2016.”  

Trump's stark shift on early voting

In a video aired nightly for convention-goers between speeches, Trump is seen urging Republicans to vote in large numbers, encouraging them to use early-voting and mail-in voting as an option.

“If you can’t make it, you need to make a plan, register and vote any way possible,” Trump said in the video. “We’ve got to get your vote.”

The message marks a shift from Trump’s previous denouncements of early voting, casting it as unreliable and untrustworthy in 2020, as states sought to expand mail-in voting due to the pandemic.

"We have to get rid of mail-in ballots because once you have mail-in ballots, you have crooked elections," Trump said in January. 

Trump was reportedly advised by his campaign staff that getting Republicans to feel confident in early voting, particularly in swing states, could help drive-up votes for the party.  

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), who previously served as a Suffolk elections commissioner, said he welcomed Trump urging voters to take advantage of early voting. LaLota, who is running against Democrat John Avlon, a former CNN political analyst, said he is “confident in New York’s elections.”

“I am quite confident in New York’s process and everybody regardless of whether or not they’re going to support me should participate in that process,” LaLota said.

A New York state of mind in Milwaukee

New Yorkers had several starring moments over the course of the convention.

Former Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin of Shirley, delivered a Wednesday night primetime address in support of Trump’s foreign policy.

Zeldin’s remarks were preceded by the Plainview parents of Omer Neutra, the Israeli soldier who continues to be held hostage by Hamas. Ronen and Orna Neutra vowed to continue fighting for their son’s return.

Rep. Elise Stefanik of upstate New York, the top New York House Republican who serves as House GOP Conference chair delivered a speech on Tuesday night praising Trump’s domestic agenda while vowing, “We the people will never give up on President Trump.”

Bob Bartels, the manager of the Steamfitters Local 638, which represents pipefitters working in New York City and Long Island, spoke about his decision to vote for Trump.

“Whenever I talk to President Trump, which is a lot, he always asks about New York and how his polling is doing in New York, and he’s a big believer that Republicans are making inroads in New York,” Stefanik told the state delegation at a Thursday reception. “He has been a believer that Republicans can get New York and I share that belief.”

CORRECTION: Orna Neutra's first name was incorrect in a previous version of this story.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.