Monday marked night one of the Republican National Convention. Donald Trump Jr. and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were among the night's featured speakers.
Ahead of the action, 3News Anchor Russ Mitchell spoke with Lisa M. Stickan, Central Committee Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party about what we can expect to see this week and how the virtual component will change the convention.
View an excerpt of their conversation below:
Russ: At this point, President Trump is behind in most national polls. In your mind, what does he need to say to turn that around?
Lisa Stickan: Well, as we remember in 2016, polling is a little all over the board. So I think he’s going to make his positive case to the public, I think you’re going to hear from different surrogates, and I think he’s really going to emphasize his strength with the economy.
Russ: You and I were talking about 2016 and the convention and all that and this is certainly different, you know, this virtual convention. Is it tougher to get the message across in a forum like this?
Lisa Stickan: That’s a great question. I think the impact might be slightly different in terms of the speeches and in terms of how we’re processing this. But I think, uh, we’ve grown accustomed to Zoom, and to just using technology to really get the message out. And I think this election cycle is a little special because technology’s going to be such a big part of getting the candidate’s message out. I think with a positive message each day of the week at this convention and with great surrogates, I think the president will be able to get his message out.
Russ: The president won Ohio in 2016. The Democrats will tell you that in 2020, Ohio is very much in play. Would you agree with that?
Lisa Stickan: I think we have a strong ground game in Ohio. The campaign is very well organized, we’ve had great surrogates on the ground, uh, great organization, headquarters, all of that. So even before the pandemic, they were out in the field really giving the President’s message. Also the historic economy. I think Ohio is a state where the President should do well and I think it’s incumbent upon us to make sure his message is delivered.
