Radio host Dave Elswick works in garage at GOP convention

Dave Elswick, host of The Dave Elswick Show, broadcast from the Republican National Convention all four days.

He was based in "Media Row," a parking garage that had been converted into a work space for dozens of radio broadcasters.

Elswick is a veteran of presidential nominating conventions. His first was in 1968 when chaos broke out outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

He is heard in Little Rock weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on KHTE-FM, 96.5.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, who appeared on the program twice this week, said he enjoys working with Elswick.

"He always has really good insight with whatever area we're discussing and I think he does a really good job of trying to inform the public," Boozman said.

The radio man said he looks forward to the quadrennial event.

"It's a fantastic experience," he said earlier in the week, as he ticked off a list of guests he'd lined up. "We've had a lot of different people in ... to talk about what's happening in the country and what's happening in the Republican Party and I'm having a fantastic time."

Thursday, while delegates were preparing for the final night's session, Elswick was focusing on the dispute between Trump campaign and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

The Texan's decision to sidestep an endorsement was a mistake, he said.

"I think, oh yeah, he blew it. There's no doubt," Elswick said in an interview. "I was one of his biggest supporters on the radio. I met him. I had him on three times. Bottom line, saying, 'Vote your conscience' is not what everybody wanted to hear."

Elswick played for his audience Ronald Reagan's 1976 concession speech to President Gerald Ford, holding it up as an example of a graceful exit.

A Section on 07/22/2016