Vegas GOP leaders pushing for presidential debate when RNC meets here in January

A Republican presidential debate may be staged in Las Vegas in late January before the GOP primary election and caucus, a local party leader said Wednesday.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel confirmed that members of the RNC would converge on Las Vegas Jan. 30 through Feb. 2. While the committee has not committed to staging a debate of Republican presidential candidates at that time, local leaders are pushing for it.

“The Republican National Committee is excited to host our annual winter meeting in Las Vegas the week before the Nevada caucus,” McDaniel said in an email. “Not only is Nevada significant to the RNC for its ‘First in the West’ status, but Republicans will not take back the White House or Senate, or expand our majority in the House, without the Silver State.”

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald said he will continue to press for a local debate.

“I think that Wednesday or Thursday (Jan. 31 or Feb. 1) would be a great day for the debate in Las Vegas,” McDonald said in a text message. “I literally just said that in the debate commission meeting.”

McDonald had been urging party leaders to gather in Las Vegas before a Republican primary presidential preference election on Feb. 6 and a Republican caucus Feb. 8.

The Nevada secretary of state’s office plans the primary election, but the state’s party leaders say they will honor only the results of their party-run caucus to choose the GOP presidential nominee two days later.

McDonald said the gathering is expected to draw about 1,300 people. A venue for the event hasn’t been finalized.

McDonald is enthusiastic about national leaders coming to Las Vegas in that time frame because the 2024 Super Bowl is scheduled at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, and the world’s media will be in town to cover the game.

In an interview in August, McDonald said that he hoped to schedule a dinner featuring presidential candidates before the Super Bowl to take advantage of the likely media surge that would occur.

McDonald said he hopes to schedule a dinner featuring Republican presidential candidates on the day of the Feb. 6 primary election so that party members can meet with them before the Feb. 8 caucus.

The current leading Republican presidential candidates are former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence.

There is no indication whether President Joe Biden would make an appearance in Las Vegas before the Democratic primary.

“Around my house, the Super Bowl is a national holiday, so I’m thinking having party leadership and candidates here during the preparation for that game definitely would be a positive,” McDonald said in August. “They can take in the city of Las Vegas, everything we have on the Strip, downtown and all the outlying neighborhoods and then roll right into the Super Bowl.”

McDonald said members of the debate commission were receptive to his idea of staging a debate in Las Vegas.

Several Republican candidates, not including Trump, have debated twice. They gathered Aug. 23 in Milwaukee and on Sept. 27 in Simi Valley, California. The next debate is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 8 in Miami.

A Democratic Party presidential candidate debate occurred in Las Vegas on Feb. 19, 2020. That nationally televised event was staged at Paris Las Vegas.

Las Vegas’ biggest presidential debate showdown occurred Oct. 19, 2016, when Trump faced off against Hillary Clinton at UNLV’s Thomas &Mack Center weeks before the election.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.