DALLAS â With less than two months to go until the midterm elections, President and Republicans gather in Texas this week for the first ever GOP midterm convention, as they aim to energize the party’s base to turn out in key races that will determine if Republicans keep control of Congress.
Democrats and Republicans traditionally hold large nominating conventions during presidential election years. But Trump a year ago floated the idea of a similar gathering ahead of the midterms, to showcase the signature policy achievements he and the Republicans in Congress produced the past two years.
The president called the convention “a truly Historic Event” and “a RALLY like none other!” when he announced it earlier this summer.
Trump will be at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas for the convention’s Wednesday and Thursday evening sessions. Trump will speak on both nights, and will deliver the keynote address on the first night, with Vice President headlining the second night.
The convention comes as Republicans face energized Democrats and stiff political headwinds as they defend their slim House and Senate majorities. There are concerns that the two-day confab that’s been described by GOP leaders as a “Trumpapalooza” may not be the best approach with the president’s approval ratings deep underwater.
But Republicans are expected to paint a contrast, as they use the convention to spotlight the Democrats’ leftward lurch and tie the entire Democratic Party to far-left and socialist proposals.
“This is not a midterm like any other, because we actually have a competition against communism now, and that’s a very serious thing. It’s going to animate voters coast to coast,” House Speaker emphasized in a Fox News Digital campaign trail interview last month.
Democrats, as they try to win back , were already battling a brand that public opinion polling indicates is extremely unpopular. Making matters worse, the high-profile victories this spring and summer by left-wing and socialist candidates over establishment rivals in Democratic primaries, which gave Republicans extra ammunition to portray all Democrats as extremists.
“What we’re going to highlight at that convention is the fact that this is not your father’s Democrat Party,” Johnson said. “It’s a contrast election, and people are making a contrast between common-sense solutions and candidates, and really crazy, which is represented by the other side.”
But Republicans have their own issues.
As the party currently in power, the GOP was already up against traditional political headwinds that have historically led to a loss of congressional seats during years. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation Americans see daily at the grocery store, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s negative numbers.
“Democrats are going to win back power,” (DNC) Chair Ken Martin predicted last month at the party’s summer meeting as he looked towards the midterms.
But his counterpart, (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters, told Fox News Digital this summer, “We have a chance to defy history and win the midterms.”
The victories by Trump and Republicans two years ago in winning back the White House and Senate and holding the House were fueled by Americans fed up with the . Two years later, inflation is the Republicans’ biggest liability.
Three out of four voters questioned in the most recent said inflation had caused financial hardship, while 54% expected the economy to worsen.
“Donald Trump started a war that no one wanted, and now Americans are paying the price. Gas prices are soaring and families who were already struggling in Trumps economy are forced to stretch their budgets even further while footing the bill for this war,” the DNC’s Martin charged.
But Gruters and other GOP leaders are spotlighting the major tax cuts on ti
