Jeanette Núñez is preparing to take the national stage…
The 48-year-old Cuban American Florida Lieutenant Governor politician and businesswoman, who currently serves as Florida’s Lieutenant Governor, will speak at this week’s Republican National Convention.
Núñez will speak on Tuesday night as part of the Republicans’ Land of Opportunity-themed day at the RNC.
Meanwhile, Mary Ann Mendoza, the mother of Mesa Police Department sergeant Brandon Mendoza, who was killed by an illegal immigrant in a head-on car collision in Arizona in 2014, will also speak on Tuesday.
This week, Republicans are looking to energize their base – and bid for sought-after undecided voters – as they hold their own part digital, part in-person convention to officially nominate President Donald Trump as their 2020 candidate.
The Republican National Convention, like its Democratic counterpart, is held each presidential election cycle and is where the party finalizes and presents its policy platforms going into the final stretch of the campaign. During the event, Republican delegates from across the country also pledge their votes for potential candidates based on the outcome of state primary elections.
This year, no more than 336 delegates – the 2016 convention had more than 2,400 – will gather in-person in Charlotte, North Carolina, to conduct the roll call vote and formally nominate Trump, who faced little opposition in the primary season.
The unorthodox convention is expected to be a test for the Republican party.
Initially scheduled to be a traditional in-person gathering in Charlotte, in June the party moved most of the convention to Jacksonville, Florida after clashing with North Carolina’s governor over coronavirus restrictions.
Then in late July, Trump cancelled the Jacksonville portion of the convention completely as infections in the state rose. The party then pivoted towards a more digital approach.
Democrats, in contrast, had been repurposing their convention to be fully digital since June.
The four-day convention, running from August 24 to 27, will center around an overarching theme of “Honoring the Great American Story” and will feature everyday Americans who will testify that the president has positively affected their lives, according to the campaign. Events will be live streamed during the day, with the main programming taking place between 8:30pm and 11pm (00:30 GMT and 03:00 GMT) each night.
Vice President Mike Pence, who will also accept the party’s nomination, said on Friday the convention would focus on the economy and law and order, while its speakers will present the Democratic party as being taken over by “the radical left.”
Trump is also expected to feature prominently during each day of the event before making his acceptance speech, likely from the South Lawn of the White House, on the final day.
Here’s the schedule for the upcoming convention:
Monday, August 24
Theme:
“Land of Promise”
Speakers:
A maximum of 336 delegates will meet in the morning from 9am to 1pm (13:00 – 17:00 GMT) before conducting a nighttime roll call in which Trump and Pence will officially be nominated.
Senator Tim Scott
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise
Representative Matt Gaetz
Representative Jim Jordan
Former Ambassador to United Nations Nikki Haley
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones
Amy Johnson Ford
Kimberly Guilfoyle
Natalie Harp
Charlie Kirk
Kim Klacik
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, St Louis couple who brandished guns at Black Lives Matter protesters
Congressional candidate Sean Parnell
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting
Donald Trump Jr.
Tanya Weinreis, Montana coffee shop owner whose business and employee’s livelihoods were saved by the federal virus relief Paycheck Protection Program
Tuesday, August 25
Theme:
“Land of Opportunity”
Speakers:
First Lady Melania Trump
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Senator Rand Paul
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi
Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee who is now an anti-abortion activist.
Jason Joyce
Myron Lizer
Mary Ann Mendoza
Megan Pauley
Cris Peterson
John Peterson
Nicholas Sandmann, Kentucky Catholic high school student who successfully sued a media organisation for not providing context to a confrontation with a Native American activist at Right to Life march that went viral
Eric Trump
Tiffany Trump
Wednesday, August 26
Theme:
“Land of Heroes”
Speakers:
Vice President Mike Pence
Second Lady Karen Pence
Senator Marsha Blackburn
Senator Joni Ernst
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
Representative Dan Crenshaw
Representative Elise Stefanik
Representative Lee Zeldin
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell
White counselor Kellyanne Conway
Vice Presidential National Security Advisor Keith Kellogg
Jack Brewer
Sister Dede Byrne
Madison Cawthorn
Scott Dane
Clarence Henderson
Ryan Holets
Michael McHale
Congressional candidate Burgess Owens
Lara Trump
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Theme:
“Land of Greatness”
Speakers:
President Donald Trump
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Senator Tom Cotton
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
Representative Jeff Van Drew
Ivanka Trump
White House Deputy Assistant Ja’Ron Smith
Police Sergeant Ann Dorn, widow of retired police captain David Dorn who was killed during violent protests in St Louis in June
Debbie Flood
Former mayor of NYC Rudy Giuliani
Franklin Graham
Alice Johnson, a woman whose prison sentence was commuted by Trump
Wade Mayfield
Carl and Marsha Mueller, parents of Kayla Mueller, a humanitarian worker killed by ISIL (also known as ISIS)
Dana White, president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)