Most Monday GOP convention events canceled as storm approaches

TAMPA, Fla.—Republican officials Saturday canceled most of Monday’s planned opening of the Republican National Convention, bowing to concerns about the safety of delegates who were to gather as Tropical Storm Isaac barreled into the area.

The plan is to formally gavel the convention open, then recess until Tuesday. The most notable events of the convention will come later, capped with Mitt Romney’s nomination acceptance speech Thursday night.

Romney’s wife, Ann, is scheduled to speak Tuesday and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan on Wednesday.

Isaac was headed on a track past Tampa toward landfall perhaps in the Florida Panhandle, but its trajectory was not clear Saturday. The storm was wide enough, however, that it was expected to affect much of western Florida.