The leader of the Chicago Republican Party said Monday that he is expecting to hear a strong “law and order” message from this week’s National Republican Convention combined with a hopeful economic vision for the future.

“I think you are going to hear a good bit about law and order which the Democrats refused to touch on in their convention, which I found absolutely stunning,” said Steve Boulton, chairman of the Chicago Republican Party.  “I think there is going to be a strong endorsement of the fact that you can’t have justice without order. So I am looking forward to seeing that and an endorsement of the direction that the president is taking the country in.”

Boulton also expects the RNC to highlight the president’s pre-pandemic economic record and to make the case that Republicans – and Trump in particular – are best placed to lead the country to a swift economic recovery.

“I think you are going to hear a lot about the economy, which was very strong going into Covid,” said Boulton. “And if you look at the unemployment figures and the Dow Jones, there’s a lot of encouragement that our economy is going to come out of Covid strongly.”

Jennifer Nevins, a conservative activist and delegate to the RNC in 2016 said she expects Republicans to make a positive case for Trump’s leadership.

“I think you are going to see a lot more optimism,” said Nevins. “One of the themes is going to be America: land of opportunity. And I think especially before Covid hit that this certainly was true. … Despite everything that is going on right now, this country remains a beacon to the world.”

“People are trying to get into this country and they always have because of the opportunities we have here,” she added. “So I think we are going to have much more of an optimistic, feel-good event that’s kind of a nice thing to have given we are in such a dark time right now.”

Both Nevins and Boulton said they are happy with the matchup against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden despite his apparent lead in national polls and key battleground states.

“I feel very good about it,” said Nevins. “What’s really been unfortunate is that the media really gives Joe a pass. He has not sat for any full-length interviews. He refuses to take questions. … Things that Trump could never get away with. … Joe has been a politician for 47 years. He has a very long record that could be attacked. And certainly, knowing how Donald Trump is, he will have no hesitation in doing that.”

Boulton said that while he has “quite a bit of respect for Joe Biden and his record,” he thinks the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left.

“Given the leftward tilt of the Democratic Party in the recent year or so it’s going to be a very interesting choice in terms of the direction for America,” said Boulton. “I’m not even sure this is even choice between two men. I’m sure the Democrats will want that, but it’s really a choice between two different directions for the country. Either we are going to stay on a law and order and sound economy basis, or we are going to go over into the AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) agenda and the Bernie Sanders agenda of hard socialism – which I believe is going to lead us into trouble.”