MILWAUKEE—  Milwaukee is now one step closer to hosting the Republican National Convention in 2024 after a GOP site selection panel Friday picked Milwaukee as the likely host city for the 2024 RNC.

The full Republican National Committee will still need approve Milwaukee as the choice during their summer meeting in Chicago, Aug. 2-5.

"Today, the Site Selection Committee voted to recommend Milwaukee to host the 2024 Republican National Convention and it is a testament to the forthright and professional behavior embraced by Milwaukee’s city leaders throughout the process," said RNC Senior Advisor Richard Walters in a statement. "A final decision will be made by Chairwoman McDaniel and the full RNC in the coming weeks.”

Milwaukee was chosen by Democrats to host the 2020 convention, but the coronavirus pandemic forced that meeting to be held nearly entirely online. President Joe Biden accepted the nomination in Delaware, not Milwaukee.

But city leaders argued that their preparations for hosting the Democratic National Convention put them in the best position to welcome Republicans to town in 2024. They have called the city “turnkey” ready for the event.

Leaders in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee joined together with Republican power brokers, including former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, to make the pitch for hosting the 2024 convention. Priebus, a former White House chief of staff under former President Donald Trump and Wisconsin state GOP chairman, leads the local committee for the convention.

Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, but lost to Biden by a nearly identical margin in 2020.

Nashville is another finalist for the convention, however its chances hit a roadblock in early July, after key legislation was pulled before a vote. 

Former Governor Scott Walker, who has a big proponent of the RNC coming to Milwaukee, tweeted Friday that this was "outstanding news" and the convention would be a "major opportunity to showcase Milwaukee."

Follow reaction from both Republicans and Democrats this afternoon:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.