The Republican National Committee announced on Thursday their list of four host city contenders to hold the GOP convention in 2016, CNN reported.

Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, and Kansas City will compete for the top spot while Las Vegas and Cincinnati officially withdrew their bids.

"While the committee understands their decision, both cities made a compelling case for 2016 and would make excellent hosts should they pursue efforts to host a future RNC convention," Site Selection Committee Chairwoman Enid Mickelsen said in a statement.

RNC officials said Cincinnati dropped out "based upon the criteria set forth by the RNC for the main arena" and Las Vegas opted out based on arena criteria and "enough on-site preparatory time to accommodate the 2016 convention."

The Family Research Council, a conservative group, issued a statement applauding Las Vegas' decision to come off the list of options.

"We are pleased to learn today that Las Vegas has withdrawn its bid to become a host city - a decision that comes only weeks after the state party ignited a party-wide firestorm by stripping pro-life and pro-natural marriage language from its state platform," FRC President Tony Perkins said.

In 2012, the GOP chose Tampa as the location of their convention.

A final decision on the host city will not be determined until the fall. The Democrats will also be making decisions on host city possibilities as well.

In April, 15 cities received a "Request for Proposal" from the Democratic National Committee to host their convention.

According to CNN, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City have until June 6 to return their RFPs.