any state in the nation . The Delegates About 2,300 delegates and 2,200 alternates delegates are expected to journey to the twin cities for the event , and the Minneapolis/St . Paul economy is expected to benefit to the tune of $ 150 to $ 160 million . The Candidates , past and present John McCain turned 72 last week ; if elected , he 'll be the oldest president sworn in to a first term . Two GOP presidential nominees were older than McCain ; Ronald Reagan was 73 in 1984 when he was running for his second term and Bob Dole was 73 in 1996 . Dole lost that election to Bill Clinton . John McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam from 1967 to 1973 ; his service awards include the Silver Star , the Bronze Star , the Legion of Merit and a Purple Heart . McCain 's father and grandfather were both U.S. Navy admirals ; they were the first father and son to achieve that rank . McCain represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1987 ; he has served in the U.S. Senate since 1987 . McCain was
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Republican National Convention is kicking off in full force Tuesday in the Twin Cities -- the first time the GOP has held a presidential convention there since 1892 . Laura Bush and Cindy McCain speak at a shortened first day of the Republican National Convention Monday . The convention , delayed briefly when Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast , is also being held later in the year than any nominating convention in history . Check out these tidbits of convention history and political trivia . Location The Republican National Convention is being held in the Xcel Energy Center , the home of the National Hockey League team the Minnesota Wild . To prepare the Xcel center for the GOP convention , workers removed 3,000 seats and installed more than 25 miles of cable Sen. Barack Obama gave his first speech as the Democrats ' presumptive 2008 presidential nominee at the Xcel Center on June 3 . The Twin Cities and Denver have each received $ 50 million each in federal funds for convention security . No Republican since Richard Nixon has carried Minnesota in a presidential general election -- the longest Democratic streak of