DALLAS — Republicans opened their highly unusual midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday afternoon, a "Trump-a-Palooza" that is putting the president at the center of this fall's midterm elections — whether the candidates running like it or not.
Many party members, including those facing tight races, are skipping the two-day affair, citing conflicting obligations or balking at demands that they pony up for access. Others are hoping an appearance alongside President Donald Trump will put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out his voters without him on the ballot.
The convention, which is part rally and part fundraiser, comes as Republicans try to boost enthusiasm heading into the midterms' final stretch despite Trump's low approval ratings. Much of the programming will focus on Democrats, trying to cast them as extremists by highlighting the party's insurgent left wing, while portraying Republicans as the party of "common sense."
Coinciding with the gathering, Trump’s political operation, which has been sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, began spending heavily through a new group, the No Going Back PAC Inc., The New York Times first reported Wednesday. The group has reserved $47 million in six competitive Senate races and one competitive House race.
That's in addition to the $10 million that MAGA Inc., Trump's super PAC, has spent on the Texas Senate race.
The lineup features Trump and more Trump
Normal political conventions are held every four years and serve a purpose beyond pomp and circumstance, with parties formally nominating their presidential picks. In 2024, Trump used the opportunity to announce JD Vance as his running mate.
The schedule this week released by organizers makes clear that the convention will be The Trump Show, through and through.
“It’s gonna be a Trump-a-Palooza,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told Spectrum News.
Boarding Air Force One to fly to Dallas, Trump said: “We’re going to have a tremendous crowd tonight.”
“Looks very big. Looks very exciting, and we’re going to explain what we’ve done,” Trump said.
But he also told reporters that oil prices — which have surged because of the Iran war — likely won't come down until after the midterms, a bit of economic forecasting that could darken his party's fortunes.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he promised.
Trump's comments came as oil prices jumped more than 3% Wednesday, pushing international Brent crude past the $100 threshold.
Trump speaks both nights, delivering a keynote address on Wednesday night and speaking again on Thursday, after Vance gives his own address.
“Look, he’s an entertainer, right? He obviously loves big, big events and his career has been built around that,” said Ray Washburne, co-chair of the Dallas host committee, at an event hosted by Bloomberg News. “He’s always front and center.”
Also addressing the convention will be members of the Republican congressional leadership and Cabinet members, including Attorney General Todd Blanche and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The president's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is on the roster, too.
Candidates who will speak include Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is running a high-profile race against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, and North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley, who is up against former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Organizers have outlined 12 hours of programming over the two nights, featuring more than 100 speakers and segments focused on subjects such as tax cuts, fraud allegations, border security and a proposed ban on members of Congress trading stocks.
Missing from the public lineup: any mention of the unpopular Iran war.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said some members of his caucus plan to skip Dallas, preferring to stay home and campaign for reelection, but many of them will make an appearance.
“We’ll parade our stars across the stage,” he said.
Many are skipping the event
An Associated Press survey of more than four dozen Republican candidates found a majority either planned not to attend, said their plans were to be determined, or ignored requests for comment.
“I had stuff already planned in my congressional district or I would be there,” Kentucky Rep. James Comer told NewsNation.
“Well, unfortunately, I have a family obligation, so I won’t be able to be there,” Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter said on Fox Business.
Some members balked at high attendance fees. Republican House members were being asked to pay $25,000 for convention tickets and lodging, according to people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to speak frankly about the private arrangement.
An additional 2,000 tickets were distributed by the House GOP’s campaign arm, largely to donors and others to attend the convention. Other tickets were allocated to state parties to distribute as they saw fit.
"Per the RNC, this is a ticketed fundraiser and rally, not a traditional national convention," the Denton County Republican Party in Texas wrote in a Facebook post, which advertised packages from $5,000 to $20,000.
Washburne said the event is nonetheless expected to draw roughly 30,000 people across both nights.
“One thing, we just have so many speaking slots. We can’t get them all in. The other is: If you’re not in a contested race, it really doesn’t make much sense to come. And the ones in contested races, they need to be in their home states to campaign,” he said.
Still, more than 100 Republican House members and candidates are expected to attend, including almost all of the MAGA Majority class of candidates in the most targeted congressional districts, according to a person familiar with the event who requested anonymity before it begins.
It remains unclear what kind of air time the convention will receive. The NFL season kicks off Wednesday with a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. And on Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will be playing in Australia.
Democrats say Republicans are out of touch
"The fact that these Republicans are planning a celebration in the middle of an economic crisis — where everyday Americans are drowning because of this high cost of living — is extraordinary," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, said at the U.S. Capitol last week.
Democrats have held such midterm conventions in the past but are not doing so this year. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said she wasn’t worried that her party was missing an opportunity to make its case on a national stage like Republicans.
“They are not focused on the issues that people are struggling with right now, that they’ve created,” DelBene said. “Cost, housing, food, healthcare, childcare, energy costs, gas prices all going up. That’s what we’re talking about on the ground all across the country.”
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Associated Press writers Steven Sloan, Aamer Madhani and Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia contributed to this report.