Artist's rendering of proposed Catawba Nation casino in North Carolina. Image from Catawba Nation Project Brief
The North Carolina Republican Party is hosting its 2014 convention at the casino owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians but the group's leader says the decision has nothing to do with a controversial proposal from the Catawba Nation. In selecting the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, the party praised the facility as a "model for economic development." But most of the Republican leaders in the state don't feel the same way about the proposed Catawba casino. "That really didn't play any role in going up to Harrah's at all," GOP chairman Claude Pope told WFAE Public Radio. "The decision point on Harrah's was location, venue, accessibility, size, price - the normal things that a large group considers when they're trying to locate a convention." The Eastern Band has donated $247,800 to Republicans in the state just in the past year alone. The state party received $50,000, the largest single donation, WFAE reported. Get the Story:
Cherokees Spend Big In NC Politics (WFAE 10/4)
NC GOP picks Harrah's for convention, fights plans for similar county resort (The Shelby Star 10/4) Related Stories:
Radio: Catawba Nation casino quest dates to land settlement (10/3)
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