Undeterred by pandemic, Alaska Republicans say they’re planning to go to Jacksonville for national convention

Alaska’s leading Republicans say they’re still planning to travel to the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, next month despite rising coronavirus case counts and the accompanying health risk.

On Thursday, the Republican National Committee announced that only regular delegates, and no alternates or guests, will be allowed during the first three days of the convention. Alternates and guests will be welcomed on the fourth night, when President Donald Trump is set to speak.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has already said she won’t attend the convention, which takes place as Florida copes with a surge in the number of coronavirus cases.

Peter Goldberg, Alaska’s Republican National Committee committeeman, said the personal risk of catching COVID-19 is worth the chance to be a part of history as the GOP officially nominates President Trump for a second term.

“They want to go because it’s a part of history. It’s history in the making,” he said.

Glenn Clary, chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, plans to make Jacksonville his ninth national convention.

“It’s euphoric, it’s exciting, and you get to enjoy a lot of people who embrace a lot of the same ideals and principles that you do,” he said.

Members of Alaska’s delegation — scheduled to be 29 delegates, 26 alternates, and guests — said they believe they can reduce the risk of spreading the virus by taking precautions.

No member of Alaska’s official delegation has said he or she will remain home. The delegation is expecting fewer guests than normal, however.

“If my wife had my druthers, I wouldn’t go, so she’s not going to go,” said Rep. George Rauscher, R-Sutton. Rauscher is the only sitting state lawmaker in Alaska’s delegation.

Last month, Trump upended Republicans’ convention plans by moving the event from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Jacksonville. At the time, Trump told the governor of North Carolina that he was uninterested in a location that would require attendees to socially distance.

The Democrats, meanwhile, are discouraging state delegations from attending their convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and are now expecting a smaller event.

Some Republican work will still take place in Charlotte the week before the Jacksonville convention, including the official casting of votes required by party rules, Alaska’s delegation said. Most delegation members won’t participate in that work, however, and will travel straight to Jacksonville.

Republican officials chose Jacksonville because it’s a Republican-friendly city with relatively lax public health restrictions in a state with a Republican governor. Since that choice, Florida has become a coronavirus epicenter, and Jacksonville has begun requiring people to wear masks indoors.

The late shift has thrown out the carefully orchestrated convention schedule. Alaska’s delegates said they still don’t know where they’ll be staying — by now, they should have their hotel assignments, something that would allow them to schedule meetings and events during the convention.

On Monday, Rauscher was rebooking his plane tickets, looking for flights with fewer passengers.

In Jacksonville, he expects to wear a mask and gloves, and he believes many convention events will be outside. (Public health experts say outdoor spaces and indoor spaces with good ventilation are less inviting to the virus.)

“I think you can limit your risks to a point where, just because you get on a plane, doesn’t mean you’re going to catch it. Just because you’re in an area with other people doesn’t mean you’re going to get it,” Rauscher said.

Goldberg said he has a friend who’s been in a hospital for nine weeks because of coronavirus, which has “scarred his lungs.”

He’s not worried about the trip to Jacksonville, though.

“I’m going to take precautions, and I suspect others will wear a mask, even if they don’t wear them here in Alaska,” he said.

[Related: Trump’s grand plans for Republican convention shrink as coronavirus surges in Florida]

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