Republicans opened their first-ever national midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday, a two-day event headlined by President Trump both nights, as the party fights to hold narrow congressional majorities in a difficult political environment.
The gathering breaks decades of tradition. Political parties have held big, televised conventions only during presidential election years, and midterm conventions have not been a feature of American politics since Democrats abandoned the practice after a short run in 1982. Trump announced the convention in July, calling it a “truly Historic Event” and promising “Great Entertainment.” He first floated the idea last year, arguing it would showcase his administration’s achievements since he returned to the White House in 2024.
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters has been billing the event as a “Trumpapalooza.” More than 100 House members and candidates are expected, with over 50 speakers or presentations scheduled each night. In addition to Trump and Vance, featured speakers include Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom Trump endorsed for a Senate seat over the incumbent Republican, and other party leaders.
A gamble on Trump’s appeal
The strategy carries clear risks. Trump’s approval rating is underwater. Polls show Democratic voters are far more energized about the midterms than Republicans. At a recent campaign rally, Trump laid out his reasoning, speaking in the third person. “The problem that we have is they say that Trump does great when he’s on the ballot,” Trump said. “But when he’s not on the ballot, his people don’t come and they don’t vote.” He urged voters to pretend he was on the ballot.
In swing states and toss-up districts, Trump and his advisors are trying to rebuild the coalition that propelled him back into office in 2024, voters who do not always show up without a presidential race at the top of the ticket. This is a different approach than most presidents take when their parties face political headwinds in a midterm year. At one of the few rallies then-President Biden attended in 2022, he joked about whether campaigning for a Democrat would help or hurt. “I’ll come campaign for him or against him, whichever will help the most,” Biden quipped.
Not every vulnerable Republican is showing up
An NPR analysis using race ratings from the Cook Political Report found that fewer than half of the Republican candidates in competitive House and Senate races are listed as convention speakers. Republican Rep. Zach Nunn of Iowa, who is in a toss-up race for reelection, told reporters on Capitol Hill he would be back in his district. “We’re going to be back in our district, working hard,” Nunn said. Vance, however, said the White House is not worried. “The president and I can go and make [the] argument on national TV,” Vance said at a White House press briefing. “We don’t need a congressman in a tight race to be there in all cases.”
The convention also faces a scheduling challenge. It is up against the NFL season opener on Wednesday night, a rematch of this year’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, with a primetime game Thursday as well. Democrats are not planning their own convention, and counterprogramming will be fairly limited. Democratic pollster John Anzalone said the expiration date on conventions has passed. He argued that the war in Iran, unpopular tariffs, high gas prices, and broader affordability concerns mean the political environment “is disastrous for Republicans running for office and this Republican convention is not going to change that narrative one iota for the midterm elections.”
Ohio Republican Party chairman Alex Triantafilou said he had no trouble finding people interested in attending. But the state party was allotted far fewer tickets than it would get for a traditional presidential convention. “From the very beginning we were told that we could use this as an opportunity to rally the troops and to raise some money for the party and those two things have certainly happened,” said Triantafilou. He said the state party is using the convention to excite grassroots Republicans. “He is very popular here,” said Triantafilou. “We do talk a lot about low propensity voters and turning them out. Nobody turns out low propensity voters in Ohio like the president. So, we welcome this.”
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, a Republican group, will be at the convention and expects many friends involved in Republican politics to attend as well. He hopes they emerge energized and ready to drive a focused message heading into the midterms. “Running to President Trump and defending his record, I think, is an interesting strategy and I think it is so interesting that it might just work,” Schilling said. “We’ve tried running away from the president in previous midterms and we almost always lose.”