MILWAUKEE — Next month, Milwaukee expects more than 50,000 visitors as delegates, alternates, and their plus ones descend on downtown for the Republican National Convention (RNC).
People from 50 states and six territories will be critical in nominating the party’s picks for president and vice president while in Wisconsin.
The Badger State will have 41 delegates at the 2024 RNC as 24 represent specific districts, while the remaining 17 represent the whole state.
Patty Reiman of Whitefish Bay is one of them.
“This being in Milwaukee will be a treasure for me because six miles away from where I live, I’m going to be on the convention floor representing Milwaukee County,” Reiman said.
Reiman, who’s retired, calls herself a “professional Republican volunteer.” Her professional life was once political, having worked for former Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner for 15 years.
That’s why it probably won’t surprise you it’s not her first time being a delegate. Though 2008 may feel far in the past, Reiman remembers it like yesterday.
“That’s when we had John McCain and Sarah Palin being the hockey mom,” Reiman recalled. “I was a hockey mom, so I felt very connected with Sarah Palin and the whole process. You’re busy from the minute you get up in the morning ‘til 2:00 in the morning, so it’s like a non-sleep week.”
A week that will kick off with a delegate party on Sunday night with primetime programming every night leading up to the party’s biggest nomination on Thursday.
Every morning of the convention starts with breakfast and a daily credential pick-up. After that, states go their separate ways whether that’s hosting speakers, shopping, taking tours, or just getting a taste of Milwaukee.
“It’s a unique experience for every delegate and alternate,” Anne Hathaway, Chairwoman of the RNC Committee on Arrangements, explained. “They all come with different expectations. Obviously, they have the business of nominating the president and vice president, but they are also here to learn, to train, to be with fellow Republicans.”
Reiman will be with fellow Republicans for her fifth time as a delegate.
Though you’ll normally find her working behind the scenes to help campaigns, she said giving her own speeches to earn the votes to become a delegate is a worthy commitment.
“I had so much fun in 2008, that I needed to repeat it in ‘12, ‘16—‘20 was kind of an off year because of COVID, but my perk for that was I did get to go to the White House when Trump gave his nomination speech, so that was really a highlight of a convention that no one is ever going to ever experience again,” Reiman said.
Reiman hopes for more of those kinds of highlights when she casts her vote to nominate Donald Trump for president again this July.
“Then the balloons will fall, and all the glitter will come out and it’ll just be a rip-roaring party,” Reiman added.
A party, for a party that hopes Wisconsin will help it win in November.
