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The Republican convention in Florida is continuing -- at least in part -- next week in Charlotte as the party seeks to counter the Democratic message.

About 50 high-profile operatives and surrogates for presidential candidate Mitt Romney are coming from Tampa to North Carolina to run a GOP war room not far from the Democratic convention at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Among the expected surrogates: N.C. Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes, a former congressman and friend of VP candidate Paul Ryan; South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx said the Democratic convention will show "what diversity really is" compared to the Republican gathering this week in Florida.

Appearing Friday night on Bloomberg TV, Foxx said Republican diversity looked different on the stage compared to the audience.

“I did notice a very distinct difference between what was happening on the platform and the audience itself," the black Democrat said. "I do think the Republicans recognize that there is a need to reflect diversity in what they’re projecting to the country, but I do think the Democratic convention is going to show you what diversity really is…Charlotte’s going to be about casting the vision of the president."

Like baseball players who come to Florida for spring training, Republicans came to Tampa hoping to get their ticket punched – their national ticket that is.

The Republicans seemed to have at least three major goals at their national nominating convention that they completed last night at Tampa: unify and excite the base, humanize their nominee, Mitt Romney, and neutralize the Medicare issue. Check out Rob Christensen's scorecard here.

More political headlines:

--Mitt Romney's speech. And a fact check of GOP claims.

--Hosting a convention for a pro-union political party in one of the nation’s most anti-union states has its challenges.

--A Charlotte festival that was supposed to offer conservatives an “alternative voice” during Democratic convention week has been canceled.

As the ranking Republican in one of the nation’s leading battleground states, one might figure that GOP Sen. Richard Burr would be front and center at the Republican National Convention. But Burr has kept such a low profile that he’s barely been visible. He has no speaking part at the convention. On Wednesday, he was the eighth speaker at the North Carolina delegation breakfast. Burr says that is fine by him. Read more from Rob Christensen here.

More political headlines and a Democratic convention news:

--The Democratic National Convention added a bunch of North Carolinians to the list of speakers including Harvey Gantt, Mel Watt, Jim Hunt, Kay Hagan and others.

UPDATED: On the first day of the Republican National Convention, more N.C. politicians gave speeches than are scheduled to take the stage at the entire Democratic Convention -- in North Carolina.

The three RNC speakers from North Carolina were three congressional candidates in targeted Democratic districts: Richard Hudson, David Rouzer and Mark Meadows.

The DNC speakers list so far includes just one North Carolina face: Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. Home state Gov. Bev Perdue is expected to give a "welcome speech" but her slot is not yet scheduled. It is likely to come after 5 p.m. Tuesday when the convention gavels to a start but don't expect it to be long or appear in primetime.

(Democratic Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton -- the gubernatorial candidate in one of the most highly watched races in the country -- says he will speak but he can't say when.)

If it wasn’t for presidential politics, McCrory believes he would be in the middle of a re-election campaign for governor. But this time, McCrory said things will be different. Even if he won't celebrate with them in Tampa.

It was slightly awkward to have New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sing his praises to a Tar Heel delegation breakfast Monday in St. Pete, while McCrory was back in North Carolina. McCrory appears to be trying to perform a political balancing act – being a party loyalist in supporting the national ticket while at the same time trying to broaden his coalition by reaching out to independents and Democrats. Read more here.

More politics:

--From the RNC: Ann Romney humanizes her husband and the GOP adopts a platform.

--Protesters went door-to-door in a low-income west Charlotte neighborhood on Tuesday to face one of their biggest challenges: Convincing the poor to join street demonstrations meant to highlight their struggles.

Charlie Black, the polished, polite, soft-spoken North Carolinian, may have seen the inside of more presidential campaigns than any man alive. Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1976 was his first. Mitt Romney’s is his 10th. Read more about Black.

More political headlines below:

--Play with an interactive map looking at North Carolina's demographics and politics.

The North Carolina Republican delegation arrived at the GOP national convention this weekend with a tailwind of its own that had nothing to do with Tropical Storm Isaac.

Normally, when the Tar Heel GOP goes to national conventions, it is hoping for a powerful lift from the national ticket – the kind of coattails provided in the past by a Ronald Reagan or a Richard Nixon. But not this year. Read Rob Christensen's full column here.

More from the RNC in Florida: N.C. delegates huddle and wait. The protests go on. The weather may lead to more protests in Charlotte. Meet Ada Fisher, an outspoken and unconventional state delegate and more of the delegation.

More political headlines:

--Take a look at Bain Capital's record in North Carolina, a mixed card that fuels Mitt Romney's critics.

The state and the federal government reached a landmark agreement Thursday that will require North Carolina to provide thousands of people with mental illnesses a way out of adult care homes and hospitals, by paying for housing, job training and mental health treatment. The state estimates that the plan for housing, jobs and treatment will cost $287 million over eight years. Read more here.

More politics:

--Republican Pat McCrory has won the endorsement of North Carolina's leading small business group in this fall's race for governor.

--Washington Post: Paul Ryan said Thursday in Fayetteville that if Congress fails to pass legislation averting $500 billion in automatic defense cuts set to take effect in January, a Romney-Ryan administration would work to undo those cuts “retroactively.”

Even for a place that hosted four Super Bowls, a World Series and the Stanley Cup, next year's Republican National Convention is a big deal. "A Super Bowl on steroids," said Chuck Black, chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

The bay area is flexing its big-game muscles for an event expected to draw 50,000 people and a worldwide audience next August, a week before the Democratic convention in North Carolina, reports The Charlotte Observer's Jim Morrill. The cities are the smallest convention hosts since Atlantic City in 1964, but the sites aren't a coincidence. Florida and North Carolina are key tossups in next year's presidential race, and the conventions could boost each candidate's fortunes in the host state.

Beyond politics, both cities are counting not only on the exposure but on more than $150 million in expected economic benefits to lift areas still mired in double-digit unemployment. As in Charlotte, Tampa organizers are deep into planning for the four-day event that starts Aug. 27. And like their Democratic counterparts, the Republicans are mum about many details. Read more here.