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Republican National Convention

#RNCinCLE: A guide to Wednesday night's events

Cooper Allen
USA TODAY

CLEVELAND — We're halfway through the Republican National Convention, and with any semblance of doubt about who will be the standard-bearer for the GOP put to rest Tuesday night (Trump officially claimed the nomination in the roll call vote), the party turns its eyes to November. And a few may be looking ahead to November 2020.

Here's your viewer's guide to all the action from Cleveland on day 3, "Make America First Again" night, which is scheduled to kick off at 7:20 p.m. ET:

America, meet Mike Pence

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence reacts with his wife, Karen, as they arrive for a Welcome Home Rally on July 16, 2016, in Zionsville, Ind.

In keeping with convention tradition, Donald Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, will get his prime-time moment on night three. While a known commodity in Washington, the Indiana governor and former congressman is largely unknown on the national stage. A CBS News poll taken this month found that 86% of were undecided or didn't know enough about him to have an opinion.

For Pence's sake, he'd probably be wise not to have Trump introduce him if he wants to maximize his speaking time. On Saturday in New York, at an event ostensibly designed to introduce his vice presidential nominee to the nation, the real estate mogul talked for 28 minutes in rambling remarks that — brace yourself for this bit of shocking news — at times tended to focus more on Trump himself. Trump even felt compelled at one point to say "back to Mike Pence" to steer his own speech back to his running mate.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Analysis: Even at VP event, it's all about Donald Trump

So what will the Indiana governor's mission be Wednesday night? Pence's anti-abortion and social conservative bona fides are well established, so it's likely a major part of his speech will be spent assuring like-minded Republicans that Trump is someone they can get behind.

Pence also figures to highlight the folksiness he brings to the GOP ticket, a counterbalance to the Manhattan panache of Donald J. Trump. How folksy is Mike Pence? Even in New York the Pence family dines at Chili's.

Pence is likely to speak sometime after 10 p.m. ET.

Conventions are about the future

Yes, we're still more than three months away from the 2016 presidential election, but if you're already thinking ahead to 2020, you may get a sneak peek Wednesday. Speakers include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and a video message from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — all vanquished Trump 2016 opponents and all under-50 ambitious pols who would likely quickly turn their attention toward the 2020 White House race should the Republican presidential ticket fall short in November.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker talks to Sen. Ted Cruz during a campaign event in Madison, Wis., on April 4, 2016.

Notably, all three former presidential hopefuls leveled blistering attacks against Trump during the primary campaign — and he against them — so expect to hear more about why Hillary Clinton wouldn't make a good president than why Trump would. Cruz, after all, hasn't even endorsed Trump yet, and it's not clear whether he will Wednesday. But it has been months since the real estate mogul linked the Texas senator's father to the Kennedy assassination, insulted his wife's appearance and called him "the single biggest liar" he's ever encountered, so he's probably ready to give a real stemwinder on behalf of Trump.

The obligatory Trump family representative

Eric Trump stands on the convention floor in Cleveland on July 19, 2016.

By the time this convention concludes, there won't be too many Trumps you haven't heard from. On Wednesday, it's Eric Trump's turn, who will give remarks following a video titled "My Father, Donald Trump." He'll also follow a speech from Lynne Patton, who's vice president of The Eric Trump Foundation.

So who is the latest member of the Trump family to address the convention? He's 32 and the third child of Donald and Ivana Trump, the billionaire's first wife. Like his two older siblings, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, he works for the Trump Organization as an executive vice president and is also president of Trump Winery. He married wife Lara Yunaska at his father's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., in 2014.

And there's Newt. Because, why not?

Donald Trump and former House speaker Newt Gingrich share the stage during a campaign rally earlier this month in Ohio.

Newt Gingrich was a finalist to be Donald Trump's running mate and even gave up his gig at Fox News amid speculation he was under consideration. The job, of course, went to Mike Pence, but the former House speaker is still going to bat for Trump.

Gingrich and his wife, Callista, are scheduled to appear before Pence in one of Wednesday night's final segments.

It's arguable, to say the least, how effective Newt Gingrich will be as a surrogate who can soften Trump's edges to female voters or broaden his appeal in swing states. But hey, few people have more experience going after the Clintons that Gingrich, so expect a vintage, 1990s-era evisceration of the presumptive Democratic nominee from the man who relished going after her husband.

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