JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of republican and democratic delegates from around the country gathered to rally behind their candidates at their respective national conventions.
But, besides what you see on TV, what do these delegates do?
“I'm a big fan of Josh Shapiro and I was walking by, and I don't know him and I spoke to him. I said, 'hey governor' and we sat down and had a coffee and had some great conversation and even exchanged numbers, and talked about how Florida and Pennsylvania could really make some things happen," Jacksonville City Councilmember Rahman Johnson, said.
Johnson made the most of his time at the democratic national convention.
“I literally had a meeting earlier with Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he's working with Buttigieg to bring an energy opportunity back to Jacksonville.
“Every time I turn around, like how can Florida do business with your state? How can Jacksonville specifically do business? And clearly, I'm still very plugged into what's going on at home,” Johnson said.
Johnson told First Coast News he would share more about the energy deal with Buttigieg once it's done, but said it’s a deal that could open doors.
Steve Adams, the vice chair of the Duval County Republican Party, said the Duval GOP focused on strategic initiatives to increase voter turnout at the RNC.
"The main strategy, GOP wide and it strikes home here in Florida. It's swamp the vote. We're trying to get out the vote as much as possible, through any means necessary. You got vote by mail, the early voting and election day voting. And we are actually pushing Republicans to what we call bank their vote to vote either by mail or in early voting. In case the weather is bad, you have a flat tire, or anything like that happens on election day," Adams said.
Adams said local republicans are reaching out to voters through social media, phone calls, and other channels.