Republicans build midterm convention around Trump to bolster turnout

But Trump’s popularity among his MAGA base and the broader Republican Party is one key tool that his party is relying on to get voters to the ballot box.

RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told the Washington Examiner that the “upcoming Midterm Convention will be a Trump-a-palooza that will showcase the strength of the Republican Party and the candidates carrying President Trump’s America First agenda forward.”

Gruters added that the main priority of the convention would be to “highlight the good President Trump has done, unite Republicans around our shared vision, and build momentum for midterm victories. Meanwhile, the debt-ridden and radical Democrats are consumed by Trump Derangement Syndrome and too broke to host a convention of their own.”

The White House boasted about Trump’s unequivocal leadership of the GOP and determination to keep control of Congress in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“President Trump will continue to draw a sharp contrast with his commonsense agenda and the radical Democrats in Congress who allowed millions of illegal aliens to flow through the border, unanimously opposed the Working Families Tax Cuts, and are soft-on-crime,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said.

Details about when and where the midterm convention will be held have not yet been released, but RNC officials toured the American Airlines Center in Dallas earlier this year. The Lone Star State is also home to one of the marquee Senate battles between state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, which could see hundreds of millions of dollars spent.

Trump’s presence in Texas “will definitely be a great motivation to the base,” said Joseph Vargas, a veteran Texas GOP consultant who spoke to the Washington Examiner while attending the Texas GOP convention. “It’ll create awareness, it’ll put Ken Paxton’s election and all the other Republican elections in Texas in headlines, which will serve as a reminder to the grassroots voters.”

Without Trump on the ballot, the GOP will need to work harder to motivate independent and center-right voters to back Republican candidates. Democrats have capitalized on voter dissatisfaction to win several off-year elections in 2025. They’re hoping to peel away enough of these voters to gain back power in Congress.

“When Trump voters show up to the polls, Republicans win,” said Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist Vince Galko. “And despite the president’s numbers sinking a little in recent times, and the Republican brand hurting a little, Democrats aren’t faring much better as far as favorability.”

“But the reason why they’ve had success in recent elections is the Democrats are turning out in higher numbers,” Galko continued. “So if this convention can do anything to turn out the Trump voter, who generally doesn’t turn out when he’s not on the ballot, then that’s a good thing.”

Some Republican Congress members said they weren’t yet aware of details about the forthcoming midterm conventions, but they too were in favor of Trump ginning up support among voters before November.

“I have not heard the details,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said. “But I will tell you, the idea of boosting voter turnout is going to be really important. As you guys know, the midterms after a president gets elected, a lot of times the voter turnout diminishes, so I think November, the races like mine, voter turnout is going to be really, really important. So, anything to motivate that, I think, is a good idea.”

Gruters previously suggested the convention could come somewhere between the last primary races and before the general election, which would be after Sept. 15, when Delaware holds its primary, and before Nov. 3, Election Day.

Although Texas looks to be the front-runner as the host site for the convention, several other battleground states are also being considered, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

“There’s no decision made, to my knowledge, but we would absolutely love to host that in Michigan,” Michigan GOP Chairman Jim Runestad said, “and I believe it would be a huge benefit to exciting the base of the Republican Party all across the country.”

The Wolverine State will feature several key 2026 races, including an intense Senate battle to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D), a gubernatorial race, and several battleground House races.

Yet Runestad also stressed that the GOP will need to work on enthusiasm, given the Democratic enthusiasm that has been swelling since the 2024 election.

“So much of what success comes to in a cycle is excitement, and you can’t just assume excitement; you can’t just assume everything’s going to go well,” he said. “You build the excitement, you have good speakers come in, the president, the vice president, very popular within the Republican base, but you need to ramp up that enthusiasm, that excitement. A convention is the best way to do it.”

Maine GOP Chairman Jim Deyermond added: “We are looking forward to the announcement of the midterm convention and excited for this opportunity to stand together and clearly deliver Republicans’ message for those in Maine and around the country. In the meantime, Maine Republicans are united, energized, and ready to take on Democrats and their failed agenda this November.”

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Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) argued that Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses make it a prime state to host the convention. “We’ve been able to execute on conventions that are complex, and most importantly, where else would you want to be with the great Iowa State Fair as the backdrop for a national convention?” he told the Washington Examiner.

Despite the last-minute work it would take to host a convention in Iowa, Nunn said, “You give me 12 hours’ notice, I’ll have everybody in there with a pork chop on a stick, championing the president, and making sure we get through the midterms.”

David Sivak contributed to this report