GOP Bets on Trump at Dallas Midterm Convention
GOP Bets on Trump at Dallas Midterm Convention
The News
Republicans are counting on an unusual midterm convention in Dallas on September 9-10 to revive the party's momentum before November, with President Donald Trump at the center of it.
The gamble is that Trump can fire up conservative voters as the public sours on the economy and the war with Iran. Some GOP strategists warn tying vulnerable candidates to an unpopular president could backfire.
Reuters reported the convention is both rally and rescue mission for a party defending its control of Congress.
Timeline
some Republican strategists dismissed it as an unnecessary distraction weeks before the midterms, according to the Reuters report.
after months of difficult headlines over rising living costs and the Iran conflict, party leaders describe the event as a major opportunity to energize the base.
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak.
Trump takes the stage. Most of his Cabinet is expected to attend.
Reactions
"President Trump turns out voters like no other candidate, and this convention will provide the momentum needed to expand our majorities in November," RNC spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre said.
"There is no better salesman for the country than Donald Trump," Michigan RNC member Rob Steele said. "I don't think it's going to hurt at all."
Not everyone is sold. South Carolina strategist Dave Wilson said the event will have limited impact unless Republicans use it to unveil a significant answer to voters' cost-of-living complaints. "I don't think the average Republican voter even knows there's a convention going on," Wilson said.
Rep. Tom Barrett, in a tough Michigan reelection fight, plans to skip Dallas and campaign at home. "He's in a tough reelection campaign and his voters are in his district," strategist Jason Cabel Roe said.
Another strategist working a competitive race, speaking anonymously, questioned whether candidates chasing independents gain anything from being tied more closely to Trump.
What's Next
Organizers expect roughly 30,000 attendees and say they have raised $42 million, fully funding the event, according to the report. Programming will highlight Trump's tax cuts and immigration policies while casting Democrats as increasingly influenced by socialists and the far left, a person familiar with the planning said.
Whether the party's most exposed candidates show up is still unsettled. Campaigns in three battleground districts said they had not been told whether their candidates would get speaking slots, and of 45 competitive House and Senate campaigns contacted about their plans, only one gave a detailed response.
More
The report put Trump's approval rating at 33% and said polling suggests Democratic voters are more energized heading into November. The convention will also serve as a fundraising and networking event — the RNC is already selling convention merchandise, and donor and convention co-chair Ray Washburne said candidates can use the national attention to lift their campaigns.
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