#Two GOP senators to skip the Republican National Convention

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Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (left) and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley

via REUTERS; AP

Two senior GOP senators will not attend the Republican National Convention next month in Jacksonville, Florida, they announced this week.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said on Monday he would not attend the August event, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic as the state sees a resurgence of cases.

“I’m not going to go, and I’m not going to go because of the virus situation,” Grassley told reporters on a conference call Monday.

The Iowa Republican, who at 86 is the oldest GOP senator, went on to note that he had not missed a single party convention since being elected to the Senate in 1980.

The Senate Finance Committee chairman praised his party’s decision to move the convention from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, as the governor didn’t feel safe holding the event in his state.

“Going to a place where the governor feels that it’s safer is probably the right thing to do if you want to have a convention. And I think we should have a convention, but I think you should do whatever you can to make it as safe as possible so that would mean with face masks and with social distancing,” he said.

On Tuesday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced that he too would be skipping the Florida event, but for different reasons.

A spokesperson for Alexander, 80, said that while he serves as honorary chairman of the Tennessee Trump campaign, the senator will not attend “because he believes the delegate spots should be reserved for those who have not had that privilege before.”

The Tennessee senator, who is retiring at the end of this term, did not say if the coronavirus pandemic played any role in his decision.

Vice President Mike Pence pledged last week that the convention would have “very sophisticated plans” to prevent the spread of the virus in an effort to quell concerns from potential attendees.

“We are excited about coming to Jacksonville, I was in a meeting not long ago when I heard about some very sophisticated plans to make sure it’s a safe and healthy environment,” he said while speaking at an event last Thursday with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

With Post wires