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Republicans will use a two-day September convention in Dallas to argue that Democrats have moved too far left while highlighting Trump administration policies and attempting to shift the midterm campaign away from being solely a referendum on President Donald Trump.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Republicans are preparing to use their first midterm convention next month to frame the November elections as a broader ideological choice, with organizers planning to argue that Democrats have been overtaken by their progressive wing while promoting key elements of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.
The two-day gathering will take place Sept. 9 and 10 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, according to an Axios report published Friday. The Republican National Committee confirmed the event in June, making it the first midterm convention staged by either major political party in recent history. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak on the evening of Sept. 9, while Trump is expected to close the convention the following night.
Organizers told Axios that the program will also feature Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, rising Republican candidates, UFC figures and celebrities. Rather than making the convention primarily a defense of Trump’s record, Republican strategists plan to use progressive political figures and commentators as examples of what they describe as the Democratic Party’s movement outside the political mainstream.
That approach comes as Trump faces difficult national polling. A Quinnipiac University survey released July 29 found his job approval at 32%, the lowest level for Trump in that poll. The survey of 963 registered voters was conducted July 23-27 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. A separate CNN/SSRS poll of 1,225 adults conducted during the same period found 73% believed Trump had not paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems, while 65% said his policies had made the economy worse. That survey carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
GOP operatives told Axios they intend to make several figures recurring subjects throughout the convention, including left-wing commentator Hasan Piker and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Organizers are also expected to focus heavily on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. El-Sayed supports Medicare for All and has sharply criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza, positions Republicans are expected to use in making their argument that the Democratic Party has moved substantially to the left.
Trump previewed that line of attack following El-Sayed’s primary victory, writing on Truth Social that the Michigan Democrat was “a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel.” El-Sayed, a physician and former public health official, has rejected that characterization, saying he is neither a socialist nor a communist and that his criticism is directed at policies of the Israeli government rather than Jewish people.
The convention is also expected to promote policies Republicans believe could help them with voters concerned about the economy and government performance. Organizers plan to highlight the administration’s tax exemption for certain tipped income, new child investment accounts, Vance’s “anti-fraud” task force and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. The event will additionally commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The audience in Dallas is expected to differ considerably from the donor- and delegate-heavy crowd at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Axios reported that the floor will instead be populated largely by MAGA activists, while state Republican parties are using premium ticket packages as a fundraising tool for candidates.
Republicans hope the convention will help broaden the terms of the midterm debate as they defend congressional majorities on Nov. 3. By emphasizing progressive Democratic candidates and personalities alongside selected Trump administration policies, GOP strategists are seeking to make the election about competing political visions rather than allowing it to become exclusively a judgment on Trump’s approval ratings and second-term record.
Democrats have chosen not to stage a competing midterm convention. A Democratic National Committee spokesperson told Axios that the Republican gathering amounts to a “multimillion-dollar celebration” of Trump’s agenda.
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