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DALLAS — New York is getting the backseat treatment at the GOP midterm convention this week, with its delegation being placed in the left rear corner of the arena, marking a significant downgrade from the 2016 and 2024 party gatherings.
In the past, despite being a Democratic stronghold, New York seemingly benefited from being President Trump’s native state and nabbed prestigious convention seating. But this go-around, the Trump connection isn’t delivering that.
Some New York Republicans in Dallas were surprised to hear of the rear seating, but tried to take the decision in stride.
“Seating doesn’t matter,” David Laska, the communications director of the New York state GOP, told The Post. “We are honored that Rep. Mike Lawler and one of our House candidates, Mike LiPetri, will be featured speakers.
“More importantly, we are working hand-in-hand with the RNC and other national Republican organizations to make sure we keep our House majority and fire Kathy Hochul in November.”
A Republican National Committee official told The Post that the downgrade this year was by no means meant to be a dig at New York — or any other state. The official noted this is the first time the GOP has done a midterm convention, and the seating was a “game of Tetris” based on how many attendees each state sent.
Unlike presidential conventions with a fixed number of delegates per state who have official functions like voting, the midterm convention attendees have no electoral duties and have paid, in some cases, thousands of dollars to state parties for a crack at the honorary delegate seat.
“It’s a giant puzzle based off of how many people each state has and how they fit on the floor,” the official said of seating choices. “This is not a slight by any means.”
Florida, home to Trump’s official residence in Mar-a-Lago, retained good seating in the front left side of the arena at the 20,000-seat American Airlines Center, home to the NBA’s Mavericks and NHL’s Stars.
However, the seats closest to the stage are not designated to a state, but reserved for “Front Row Joes” – which is the nickname Trump has dubbed for his biggest fans who follow him around the country to attend his events.
Back in 2024, New York’s delegation earned prime front-row seating, just to the side of the main stage, while Florida enjoyed the center, front-row spot.
In 2016, the Empire State had the highly coveted center front-row spot, with Florida just behind it. The 2020 convention was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically, state delegation seating at party conventions is a show of how influential they are. Oftentimes, battleground states and states where presidential or vice presidential nominees were born get coveted positions.
This week’s so-called “Trump-a-palooza” midterm convention is unprecedented for the GOP. Traditionally, Republicans and Democrats hold their national party conventions in presidential cycles, when they have to officially coronate their standard-bearer and choose the party platform.
Republicans won’t be doing either of those tasks at the convention confab this week. But at the president’s request, the GOP’s Trump-a-palooza event will mirror key aspects of national party conventions in presidential cycles.
That includes the tradition of state delegates sitting together for the speeches on the arena floor.
Tickets for Michigan’s delegation clocked in at $7,500 for an individual and $10,000 for a couple to become an honorary delegate. Texas’s price tag for being an honorary delegate clocked in at $20,000, the HuffPost reported.
The event is doubling as a mega fundraiser for Republicans and a political stimulant intended to dramatically energize the voting base, 55 days out from the Nov. 3 midterm election.
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