--- title: Republicans Consider Skipping GOP National Convention description: Many Republican lawmakers are planning to skip the GOP National Convention in a move possibly meant to distance themselves from candidates. canonical: https://time.com/4291397/republican-national-convention/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-12T20:27:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:44:51.440Z article:section: Politics og:title: Top Republicans Consider Skipping GOP National Convention og:description: It would distance themselves from the presidential candidates og:url: https://time.com/4291397/republican-national-convention/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt637d5a3ee1e27019/69888ed1524fc049eadf78c2/republican-national-convention.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GOP Convention Concludes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Top Republicans Consider Skipping GOP National Convention twitter:description: It would distance themselves from the presidential candidates twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt637d5a3ee1e27019/69888ed1524fc049eadf78c2/republican-national-convention.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Top Republicans Consider Skipping GOP National Convention > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Apr 12, 2016 8:27 PM UTC  Balloons fall from the ceiling following President George W. Bush's speech accepting his party's nomination on the final night of the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Sept. 2, 2004. Balloons fall from the ceiling following President George W. Bush's speech accepting his party's nomination on the final night of the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Sept. 2, 2004. Alex Wong—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Apr 12, 2016 8:27 PM UTC Several GOP lawmakers — including many who are seeking re-election — are [planning to skip the Republican National Convention](http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/12/politics/republican-convention-2016/index.html) in a move possibly meant to distance themselves from the eventual presidential nominee and the chaos plaguing the party. Many high-profile Republicans, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, told CNN that they do not intend to attend the [convention in Cleveland](http://time.com/4260668/republican-convention-contested-super-tuesday-donald-trump-delegates/?iid=sr-link2) this summer. The decision comes after Republican presidential frontrunner [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4252010/donald-trump-convention-republican/) warned of riots breaking out if he’s denied the nomination and amid fears that being tied too closely to the candidates could harm re-election chances. Some legislators have chosen to campaign in their own districts than attend the convention, CNN reports. “I’m more valuable outside of Cleveland than inside of Cleveland,” Sen. Richard Burr, who is up for re-election in North Carolina and is considering skipping out on the convention, told the news outlet. \[[_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/12/politics/republican-convention-2016/index.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4291397/republican-national-convention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4291397/republican-national-convention/"},"headline":"Top Republicans Consider Skipping GOP National Convention","datePublished":"2016-04-12T20:27:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:44:51.440Z","description":"It would distance themselves from the presidential candidates","url":"https://time.com/4291397/republican-national-convention/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt637d5a3ee1e27019/69888ed1524fc049eadf78c2/republican-national-convention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt637d5a3ee1e27019/69888ed1524fc049eadf78c2/republican-national-convention.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GOP Convention Concludes","caption":"Balloons fall from the ceiling following President George W. 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