Fla. governor halts RNC plans, declares state of emergency

TAMPA (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott is canceling his plans for the Republican National Convention to prepare for the tropical storm approaching his state. Republicans announced Saturday that the first day of events have been cancelled.

The Republican governor already declared a state of emergency for Isaac, which crossed the eastern end of Cuba on Saturday.

Soon after Scott’s staff announced the governor would cancel his speech Monday night, convention officials said they would postpone most events until Tuesday afternoon.

The governor says: “I am responsible for all 19 million residents and visitors and it is my duty to make sure we can quickly respond to the regions affected.”

He stressed that he wanted to focus the state’s attention on all the areas that could need help in the storm, not just the Tampa Bay area.