List of Republican National Conventions

This is a list of Republican National Conventions. The quadrennial convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States.

States that have hosted a Republican National Convention

List of Republican National Conventions

Note: Conventions whose nominees won the subsequent presidential election are shaded in pink.

Dates[1]	Year	Location	State	Temporary Chair	Permanent Chair	Number of Ballots	Presidential Nominee	Vice Presidential Nominee
June 17–19	1856	Musical Fund Hall; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Robert Emmett of New York	Henry S. Lane of Indiana	2	John C. Frémont of California	William L. Dayton of New Jersey
May 16–18	1860	Wigwam; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	David Wilmot of Pennsylvania	George Ashmun of Massachusetts	3	Abraham Lincoln of Illinois	Hannibal Hamlin of Maine
June 7–8	18641	Front Street Theatre; Baltimore, Maryland	Maryland	Robert Breckinridge of Kentucky	William Dennison of Ohio	1		Andrew Johnson of Tennessee
May 20–21	18682	Crosby's Opera House; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Carl Schurz of Missouri	Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut	1	Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois	Schuyler Colfax of Indiana
June 5–6	18722	Academy of Music; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Morton McMichael of Pennsylvania	Thomas Settle of North Carolina	1		Henry Wilson of Massachusetts
June 14–16	1876	Exposition Hall; Cincinnati, Ohio	Ohio	Theodore M. Pomeroy of New York	Edward McPherson of Pennsylvania	7	Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio*	William A. Wheeler of New York*
June 2–8	1880	Interstate Exposition Building; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	George F. Hoar of Massachusetts		36	James A. Garfield of Ohio	Chester A. Arthur of New York
June 3–6	1884	Exposition Hall; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	John R. Lynch of Mississippi	John B. Henderson of Missouri	4	James G. Blaine of Maine	John A. Logan of Illinois
June 19–25	1888	Auditorium Theatre; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	John M. Thurston of Nebraska	Morris M. Estee of California	8	Benjamin Harrison of Ohio*	Levi P. Morton of New York*
June 7–10	1892	Industrial Exposition Building; Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minnesota	J. Sloat Fassett of New York	William McKinley of Ohio	1	Benjamin Harrison of Ohio	Whitelaw Reid of New York
June 16–18	1896	St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall; St. Louis, Missouri	Missouri	Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana	John M. Thurston of Nebraska	1	William McKinley of Ohio	Garret Hobart of New Jersey
June 19–21	1900	Convention Hall; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Edward O. Wolcott of Colorado	Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts	1		Theodore Roosevelt of New York
June 21–23	1904	Chicago Coliseum; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Elihu Root of New York	Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois	1	Theodore Roosevelt of New York	Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana
June 16–19	1908			Julius C. Burrows of Michigan	Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts	1	William Howard Taft of Ohio	James S. Sherman of New York
June 18–22	1912	Chicago Coliseum; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Elihu Root of New York		1	William Howard Taft of Ohio	James S. Sherman of New York3
June 7–10	1916			Warren G. Harding of Ohio		3	Charles Evans Hughes of New York	Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana
June 8–12	1920	Chicago Coliseum; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts		10	Warren G. Harding of Ohio	Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts
June 10–12	1924	Public Auditorium; Cleveland, Ohio	Ohio	Theodore E. Burton of Ohio	Frank W. Mondell of Wyoming	1	Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts	Charles G. Dawes of Illinois
June 12–15	1928	Convention Hall; Kansas City, Missouri	Missouri	Simeon D. Fess of Ohio	George H. Moses of New Hampshire	1	Herbert Hoover of California	Charles Curtis of Kansas
June 14–16	1932	Chicago Stadium; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Lester J. Dickinson of Iowa	Bertrand Snell of New York	1	Herbert Hoover of California	Charles Curtis of Kansas
June 9–12	1936	Public Auditorium; Cleveland, Ohio	Ohio	Frederick Steiwer of Oregon	Bertrand Snell of New York	1	Alf Landon of Kansas	Frank Knox of Illinois
June 24–28	1940	Convention Hall; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Harold Stassen of Minnesota	Joseph W. Martin of Massachusetts	6	Wendell Willkie of New York	Charles L. McNary of Oregon
June 26–28	1944	Chicago Stadium; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Earl Warren of California		1	Thomas E. Dewey of New York	John W. Bricker of Ohio
June 21–25	1948	Convention Hall; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Dwight Green of Illinois		3		Earl Warren of California
July 7–11	1952	International Amphitheatre; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Walter S. Hallanan of West Virginia	Joseph W. Martin of Massachusetts	1	Dwight D. Eisenhower of New York	Richard Nixon of California
August 20–23	1956	Cow Palace; Daly City, California	California	William F. Knowland of California		1	Dwight D. Eisenhower of Pennsylvania
July 25–28	1960	International Amphitheatre; Chicago, Illinois	Illinois	Cecil Underwood of West Virginia	Charles Halleck of Indiana	1	Richard Nixon of California	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts
July 13–16	1964	Cow Palace; Daly City, California	California	Mark Hatfield of Oregon	Thruston Morton of Kentucky	1	Barry Goldwater of Arizona	William E. Miller of New York
August 5–8	1968	Miami Beach Convention Center; Miami Beach, Florida	Florida	Edward Brooke of Massachusetts	Gerald Ford of Michigan	1	Richard Nixon of New York	Spiro Agnew of Maryland
August 21–23	1972	Miami Beach Convention Center; Miami Beach, Florida4		Ronald Reagan of California		1	Richard Nixon of California
August 16–19	1976	Kemper Arena; Kansas City, Missouri	Missouri	Bob Dole of Kansas	John J. Rhodes of Arizona	1	Gerald Ford of Michigan	Bob Dole of Kansas
July 14–17	1980	Joe Louis Arena; Detroit, Michigan	Michigan	Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas	John J. Rhodes of Arizona	1	Ronald Reagan of California	George H. W. Bush of Texas
August 20–23	1984	Dallas Convention Center; Dallas, Texas	Texas	Howard Baker of Tennessee	Bob Michel of Illinois	1
August 15–18	1988	Louisiana Superdome; New Orleans, Louisiana	Louisiana	Elizabeth Dole of Kansas		1	George H. W. Bush of Texas	Dan Quayle of Indiana
August 17–20	1992	Astrodome; Houston, Texas	Texas	Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas	Bob Michel of Illinois	1	George H. W. Bush of Texas	Dan Quayle of Indiana
August 12–15	1996	San Diego Convention Center; San Diego, California	California	George W. Bush of Texas Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey	Newt Gingrich of Georgia	1	Bob Dole of Kansas	Jack Kemp of Maryland
July 31–August 3	2000	First Union Center; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	Trent Lott of Mississippi	Dennis Hastert of Illinois	1	George W. Bush of Texas*	Dick Cheney of Wyoming*
August 30–September 2	2004	Madison Square Garden; New York City, New York	New York	Linda Lingle of Hawaii		1	George W. Bush of Texas	Dick Cheney of Wyoming
September 1–4	2008	Xcel Energy Center; Saint Paul, Minnesota	Minnesota	Mitch McConnell of Kentucky	John Boehner of Ohio	1	John McCain of Arizona	Sarah Palin of Alaska
August 27–30	2012	Tampa Bay Times Forum; Tampa, Florida	Florida			1	Mitt Romney of Massachusetts	Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
July 18–21	2016	Quicken Loans Arena; Cleveland, Ohio	Ohio	Mitch McConnell of Kentucky	Paul Ryan of Wisconsin	1	Donald Trump of New York*	Mike Pence of Indiana*
August 24–27	2020	Charlotte Convention Center; Charlotte, North Carolina (Day 1) Various locations remotely (Days 2–4)5	North Carolina	Mitch McConnell of Kentucky	Kevin McCarthy of California	1	Donald Trump of Florida	Mike Pence of Indiana
July 15–18	2024	Fiserv Forum; Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Wisconsin	Mitch McConnell of Kentucky	Mike Johnson of Louisiana	1	Donald Trump of Florida	JD Vance of Ohio
TBD	2028	Toyota Center; Houston, Texas	Texas	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

*Won the election despite losing the popular vote.
¹This convention was known as the National Union Convention.
²This convention was known as the National Union Republican Convention.
³Sherman, who had been elected vice president in 1908, died six days before the 1912 election; he was subsequently replaced as Republican vice-presidential nominee by Nicholas M. Butler of New York.
⁴Originally scheduled for the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California and for August 14–16.
⁵Originally scheduled for the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the venue was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keynote speakers

• 1884 – U.S. Representative John R. Lynch of Mississippi (thought to be the first keynote speaker)
• 1916 – U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio^[2]
• 1920 – U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts^[3]
• 1924 – U.S. Representative Theodore Burton of Ohio^[4]
• 1928 – U.S. Senator Simeon Fess of Ohio
• 1932 – U.S. Senator Lester Dickinson of Iowa
• 1936 – U.S. Senator Frederick Steiwer of Oregon
• 1940 – Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota
• 1944 – Governor Earl Warren of California
• 1948 – Governor Dwight Green of Illinois
• 1952 – General Douglas MacArthur of Wisconsin
• 1956 – Governor Arthur Langlie of Washington
• 1960 – U.S. Representative Walter Judd of Minnesota
• 1964 – Governor Mark Hatfield of Oregon
• 1968 – Governor Daniel Evans of Washington
• 1972 – RNC Co-Chair Anne Armstrong of Texas
• 1976 – U.S. Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee
• 1980 – U.S. Representative Guy Vander Jagt of Michigan
• 1984 – U.S. Treasurer Katherine Ortega of New Mexico
• 1988 – Governor Thomas Kean of New Jersey
• 1992 – U.S. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas
• 1996 – U.S. Representative Susan Molinari of New York
• 2000 – No officially designated keynote speaker; U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona and General Colin Powell of Virginia were featured speakers.
• 2004 – U.S. Senator Zell Miller of Georgia (a Democrat, Miller is first speaker from the opposite party to address a national convention as keynoter)
• 2008 – Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York
• 2012 – Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
• 2016 – No officially designated keynote speaker; multiple "headliners" each night^[5]
• 2020 - U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina

Gallery of convention sites

• 
  Interior of the Exposition Hall of Cincinnati during the 1876 convention
• 
  Illustration of the 1888 convention
• 
  Inside of the 1896 convention hall
• 
  1900 Republican convention
• 
  1904 convention hall during the opening prayer
• 
  Coliseum set-up for the 1916 convention
• 
  Inside the 1920 convention hall
• 
  1964 convention in Daly City, California
• 
  First Lady Pat Nixon addresses the 1972 convention
• 
  Ronald Reagan giving his 1980 acceptance speech
• 
  George Bush is joined by his running mate and family at the 1988 convention
• 
  Laura and George Bush with Dick and Lynne Cheney during the 2004 convention
• 
  Floor of the 2008 convention.
• 
  2012 convention
• 
  2016 convention

See also

• Bibliography of the history of the Republican Party
• List of United States Republican Party presidential tickets
• List of presidential nominating conventions in the United States
• List of Democratic National Conventions
• List of Whig National Conventions
• United States presidential election
• United States presidential primary