GOP moves up Romney nominating vote

The Republican National Committee will move up the official nominating process for Mitt Romney at the GOP convention to Monday, days before the party normally nominates a presidential candidate, The New York Times reports.

Concerned with a potential upheaval by supporters of Rep. Ron Paul and with Tropical Storm Isaac barreling down on Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, the party will begin its roll call vote on the first night of the convention. Normally, the party nominates a candidate on the day before they make their speech, which Romney is giving on Thursday.

ABC, CBS and NBC have already planned coverage for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when the major players in the GOP will give primetime speeches, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. With the roll call out of the way, primetime coverage could be solely dedicated to these speeches.

Because the major networks currently do not plan to broadcast the convention on Monday, any chaos during the voting process may not be seen by a broader audience. Party officials may move Ann Romney’s convention speech to Tuesday, Politico reports, as she was slated to speak on Monday night.

Paul and his supporters worked hard to gather delegates at state Republican Party conventions, tallying 177. Although he was not given a formal speaking role at the convention, he will be in Tampa for an rally with his supporters.