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The 2012 nomination convention for Republican Party will be held in Tampa, FL from August 27th - 30th. KUNC will be following the events along with The Colorado Statesman and NPR News. The Colorado Statesman is on site in Tampa, you can follow Ernest Luning on Twitter @eluning.

RNC Visits Denver As Search Continues For 2016 GOP Convention Host City

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Ann and Mitt Romney exit the stage after Mitt's speech at the Republican National Convention in 2012. Balloons and grandchildren filled the stage after the speech.

Six cities are still in the running for the 2016 RNC National Convention. Including Denver, others on the list like Las Vegas, Dallas, Kansas City, Cleveland and Cincinnati will all receive ‘technical visits’ to give organizers a better feel for the cities’ offerings.

“We’ve entered the next phase of the site selection process with all cities on an even playing field – there are no favorites, there are no underdogs,” said RNC Site Selection Chair Enid Mickelsen in a statement. “The technical visits will help aid the committee in their decision making process as we narrow the field of cities in contention for the 2016 Republican National Convention.”

"They're going to visit some of our anchor hotels and meet with the chairman of our effort Pete Coors and just size us up."

Ryan Call, state chairman for the Colorado Republican Party, says the visit is a time for Denver to show its convention hosting potential.

“They’re going to tour the Pepsi Center facility, they’re going to check out the convention center,” Call said. “They’re going to visit some of our anchor hotels and meet with the chairman of our effort Pete Coors and just size us up.”

The RNC Site Selection Committee could make further cuts to the list of possible host cities in June through August as initial negotiations with the final cities begin. The full RNC governing body will then vote on its top choice later in the summer and early fall of 2014.

Denver survived the first round of top tier cuts in early April when the RNC reduced the number of possible host cities from eight to six after receiving bids from dozens of possible contenders.

There could be a hiccup for Denver surrounding hockey and basketball playoffs. As the Denver Business Journal reports, with a June Republican convention, a location conflict could arise as the event would most likely be held in a sports arena of some kind.

Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2008, and was praised for its ability to pull off such a large event. A group of bipartisan leaders including Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock are supporting the 2016 effort.

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