Is it a Meeting? Is it a Convention?

Important distinctions within the Republican Party of Arkansas

With all the meetings and Conventions that happened in the Republican Party of Arkansas in 2024, it’s easy to get very confused very quickly. We hope this helps:

Two-Year Cycle

Because we are a political party, our activities operate around a two-year cycle that works together with the two-year election cycle. For example, state lawmakers are elected each even-numbered year: 2024, 2022, 2020, etc. Our Biennial Conventions — one each at the County, Congressional District, and State level — happen in those even-numbered election years.

County Convention

This year, in March-early April, every County Committee held this series of meetings:

• a final meeting of the old County Committee,

• the Biennial County Convention,

• a special Convention to elect RNC delegates, and

• the first meeting of the new County Committee.

This is when County Committees elected delegates for the 2024 State Convention.

Special District Convention

Every 4 years — presidential election years — Arkansas sends delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) to nominate the Republican candidate for the nationwide November General Election ballot. This year, your County Committee held a special Convention back in March-April to elect delegates to attend the special District Convention to elect the RNC delegates.

This presidential election year all four Congressional Districts then held their special Conventions on May 11 to elect District delegates for the RNC Convention. (The First and Second Congressional Districts held a joint Convention in Cabot with District Two doing business in the morning and District One working in the afternoon after a shared lunchtime program.)

State Convention

Next, the 2024 Biennial State Convention was held on Saturday, Saturday, June 8, in Rogers, where some 600+ delegates approved several important changes to the platform and RPA Rules.

At State Conventions, delegates approve / reject various resolutions and proposed changes to the Arkansas Republican Party platform and RPA Rules. Remember, all the State Convention delegates are elected by the County Committees.

When you’re talking about a convention, you can see that conventions represent the grassroots people who make up the Republican base because all convention delegates are elected by County Committees. You should also know that Robert’s Rules has different Rules for conventions than for regular/special meetings. Also understand that Committees are made up of members. Conventions are for delegates (and alternates), all of whom must be elected.

After the County, Congressional District, and State Conventions the Republican Party of Arkansas is “organized” for the next two-year election cycle. You won’t hear anything more about the next Conventions and next set of delegates until 2026.

State Convention “Loans” Its Authority

As has been pointed out before, the State Convention has “final authority in all party matters” and “loans” that authority to the State Committee / Executive Committee as needed, and only as far as necessary, to accomplish Party goals and activities. The State Committee / Executive Committee and RPA staff are the ones who schedule, coordinate, and arrange the agenda for State Conventions as well as other State meetings and events. (RPA Staff runs the RPA headquarters in downtown Little Rock.)

Who Is the State Committee?

The State Committee is made up of individuals elected as Republican party officials (e.g. County Chair, District Chair, County CommitteeMan/Woman, Minority Caucus Chair, etc.) and who are current and former Republican elected officials. These people automatically become members of the State Committee by virtue of their other positions; however, current and former Republican elected officials cannot vote.

When you’re talking about the State Committee, you need to know that it represents those people already elected within the Party as well as Republican officials and lawmakers that all the voters selected at the General Election.

State Committee Meeting

So, to add to all the confusion, the State Committee held its Spring Meeting on May 18 in Little Rock that was closed to everyone except State Committee members. Committee members elected Arkansas’ at-large RNC delegates that day and considered an RPA Rule (ultimately rejected) that would have raised the approval threshold from 1/2 to 2/3rds — for votes taken at State Conventions.

No wonder Arkansas Republicans (and so many new members) get very confused very quickly! We’ve had County meetings / Conventions in March and April, then Congressional District special (RNC) Conventions on May 11, the Spring State Committee Meeting on May 18, and the 2024 State Convention in June.

This year, Arkansas Republicans have one more Congressional District meeting — for Districts 1 and 2, that’s on September 7 in Cabot with Marjorie Taylor Greene — and one more State Committee meeting, currently set for early December. Look for two State Committee meetings in 2025, as well as two District meetings, all in this two-year cycle of 2024-2025.

Still confused? Ask your County Committee Chair or your District Chair for more help. The more you study your RPA Rules (and Roberts Rules) the more prepared and effective you’ll be.