List of prominent Republicans refuse to attend RNC

Monday, July 18, 2016
VIDEO: RNC no-shows
At this year's Republican National Convention, part of the story is all about who won't be there.

Typically at a national political convention, it's fun to talk about and spy all the luminaries who are there.

But at this year's Republican National Convention, part of the story is all about who won't be there.

RELATED: Live coverage of the Republican National Convention

We've never seen anything like this before.

Former President George H. W. Bush won't be in attendance. Nor will his son, Bush 43.

The last two Republican nominees, Mitt Romney and John McCain, aren't coming.

The governor of the host state of Ohio, and former rival, John Kasich, will pass.

One of the no-shows is Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) who's in a tough re-election fight against Democrat Katie McGinty.

And the list goes on.

So is it all about Trump?

"I'm never going to be supporting Hillary Clinton under any circumstances, but at the same time, I just haven't been able to cross the Rubicon in terms of supporting the presumptive nominee," said Rep. Charles Dent (R-Pa.).

Some rebellious delegates threatened to walk out if they are thwarted, perhaps on Monday. Should that occur in significant numbers, it could leave television cameras panning across empty seats.

"We won't sit around and coronate a king," said Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, who like many insurgents has backed vanquished presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

The convention has other problems because of no-shows, corporate no-shows.

Motorola, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Apple are part of the contingent that donated big bucks to the GOP convention four years ago.

This year, they and many others have scaled back or are keeping their cash in their pockets.

And right now, reports say the RNC is $6 million short.