With President Trump's approval rating in the 30s and an ongoing war in Iran pressuring the economy, Republicans need November's midterm elections to be about something other than Trump. Their answer is the party's first-ever midterm convention, a national gathering held in an off-year to sharpen a congressional message, scheduled for Sept. 9-10 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The program is built around a single argument: that Democrats have been captured by the socialist left.
The attack line and who it targets
GOP operatives spent months collecting footage of progressive politicians and activists, who will appear as recurring characters throughout both convention days. The list includes left-wing commentator Hasan Piker and Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. A convention source told Axios the collection is vast: "Our video trove is endless."
The Democrat receiving the most concentrated attention is Abdul El-Sayed, the party's Senate nominee in Michigan. El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, backs Medicare for All and has criticized Israel's actions in Gaza. Trump has called him a "communist" and a "man of hate." El-Sayed has said he is a capitalist who disagrees with Israeli government policy, not with Jewish people.
What two days in Dallas actually looks like
Vance speaks the evening of Sept. 9. Trump speaks Sept. 10 and is expected in the convention hall both nights. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other administration officials have major speaking roles. The speaker list also includes midterm candidates, UFC figures and celebrities.
The crowd will differ from 2024, when donors and delegates filled the floor. In Dallas, the audience will mostly be MAGA activists. The event will commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Operatives Justin Caporale and Tony Sayegh are the primary organizers, roles both held at the 2020 and 2024 conventions.
Republican policy touchpoints include Trump's tax exemption for some tipped income, new child investment accounts, Vance's anti-fraud task force and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement.
The numbers Republicans are working against
A CNN poll released last week found 73% of respondents thought Trump was not paying enough attention to domestic issues. Separately, 65% said his policies were worsening economic conditions. Many Republicans have expressed frustration with Trump's lack of focus on affordability, according to the Axios report.
Democrats chose not to hold their own midterm convention. DNC spokesperson Kendall Witmer said the GOP event amounts to a multimillion-dollar celebration that ties vulnerable Republican candidates closer to what she called a failed agenda.