It was about a year ago when Axios reported that Democratic officials were exploring the possibility of something unusual: a large-scale convention ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. One day later, Donald Trump announced by way of his social media platform that he was “thinking of recommending a National Convention to the Republican Party, just prior to the Midterms.”
The president, true to form, neglected to mention that he was borrowing the opposition party’s idea. He nevertheless called House Speaker Mike Johnson to discuss the possibility, and the Louisiana Republican told Trump what he always tells Trump: “That’s genius.”
As the process moved forward, the Democratic National Committee ultimately decided not to bother with such a gathering, but earlier this year the Republican National Committee approved a plan for a midterm convention, and the two-day event is poised to get underway in Dallas.
Trump is doing his best to generate some kind of hype for the get-together, recently assuring the public, “It will be like nothing else. The Music, Excitement, and Importance of this Evening will be at levels never seen at a Convention or Political Event.” On Tuesday afternoon, the president added, “The Republican National Convention, tomorrow night in Dallas, is really ‘HOT!’”
Whether Trump genuinely believes this or not is an open question, but if he and his party are feeling optimistic, they probably ought to start lowering their expectations.
In fact, as the festivities get underway, they might want to consider the top 10 problems with this pointless and futile midterm convention.
10. The convention has no real purpose. When the major political parties gather every four years for their national conventions, they’re often accused of being glorified infomercials, but there’s at least a procedural purpose: The parties formally nominate their respective presidential tickets and approve an official platform.
The Republicans’ midterm convention, however, serves no purpose whatsoever, and no official business will be conducted.
9. The party has no message. What exactly is the message that Republicans hope to deliver to the electorate? According to RNC Chairman Joe Gruters, the gathering will be a “Trumpapalooza,” designed to celebrate the woefully unpopular president. But a Politico report this week went a little further, suggesting that party officials also want to emphasize what congressional Republicans have accomplished with their majority.
Given how profoundly unproductive the GOP-led Congress has been over the last 20 months, that’s going to be a tough sell.
8. Several speakers will run afoul of federal ethics restrictions. Many members of the White House Cabinet are scheduled to speak in Dallas despite the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activities.
7. A whole lot of Republican officials don’t want to go to this thing. There have been several roundups in recent days documenting the many Republican officeholders and candidates who have announced that they have no intention of showing up for their party’s convention.
MS NOW reported, “Only nine House candidates of the 21 ‘toss-up’ races per the Cook Political Report have confirmed their attendance, just five of the nine battleground Senate candidates plan to be there and dozens more congressional candidates’ RSVPs are still outstanding, according to an MS NOW analysis. Some candidates cited scheduling conflicts, such as fundraisers or personal matters. Others said that with less than two months until Election Day, their time is better spent in their districts.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is among the party leaders who won’t speak at the gathering, and first lady Melania Trump is also reportedly skipping the event.
6. Party officials have had to work on a plan to prevent an empty arena. Reuters reported that organizers, expecting poor attendance from Republican officials and donors, have made contingency plans to welcome into the venue “more everyday supporters than initially planned.”
5. The whole convention has been burdened by poor organizing. MS NOW spoke to a person familiar with both the planning of the event and with Trump’s thinking who conceded that the logistics surrounding the convention have not been smooth. “It’s just poor planning,” the person said of the eleventh-hour decisions made leading up to the convention. “We’re basically just winging it.”
4. The timing of the convention is awful. It’s a problem that, on the morning of Sept. 11 — the 25th anniversary of one of the most heartbreaking days in American history — the public will be confronted with images of GOP elites partying in Dallas. But in case that weren’t quite enough, the opening night of the convention will coincide with the first NFL game of the year, which will be a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl.
The second night of the convention will coincide with the second NFL game of the year, which will also feature two playoff teams from last season.
3. The convention is already facing credible accusations that it’s little more than a fundraising grift. Trump will headline an RNC fundraiser before taking the stage, and the price of admission is $250,000 per person. What’s more, donors looking for a photo with the president will be expected to pony up nearly $90,000.
Some of the downballot candidates who are making the trip to Dallas are reportedly doing so mainly to gain access to the kind of wealthy party donors who can afford to attend.
2. The event is built on a foundation of dubious assumptions. When pressed, Republican organizers have said they’re focused on turning the convention into a “Trumpapalooza” for an explicit reason: As Election Day approaches, the party wants to light a fire under the president’s MAGA base.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense. The voters Republicans have to worry about are not the hardcore Trump followers; they’re the non-MAGA voters who are already feeling discouraged, who aren’t motivated to cast ballots and who’ll probably be watching football on Wednesday and Thursday night.
1. The convention is geared toward nationalizing the election cycle, which is the opposite of what Republicans should be doing right now. Not to put too fine a point on this, but Democrats realize they’re running against an unpopular president and his unpopular party, which controls all the levers of federal power, in a year in which most Americans are thoroughly dissatisfied with the status quo.
The Democratic strategy, in other words, is built on nationalizing the midterms. By holding a pointless national convention, Republicans are giving Democrats more of what they want.
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