Trump-backed midterm convention opens as some Republicans stay away

President Donald Trump’s rare midterm convention is bringing Republican leaders, donors and candidates to Dallas for a two-day show of party unity, but some GOP candidates in competitive races are choosing to campaign at home instead of appearing at the Trump-centered event.

The gathering at the American Airlines Center is designed less like a traditional political convention and more like a large campaign rally and fundraiser. Trump has called it a “rally like never before,” while the Republican National Committee has billed the event as a showcase for the president’s agenda and GOP candidates ahead of the November midterm elections.

The event comes as Republicans face political pressure from Trump’s declining approval ratings and public discontent over the war in Iran. A CBS News poll in late July put Trump’s approval rating at 39%, down 5 points since March. Al Jazeera reported that major polling averages show his approval around 38%, with some late-August polls, including Reuters-Ipsos and Financial Times-Focaldata surveys, at 33%.

National parties usually reserve conventions for presidential election years, when delegates formally nominate a candidate and approve a platform. CBS News reported that neither major party has held this kind of midterm gathering since Democrats did so in 1982. This week’s event includes no nomination process. Instead, it is intended to boost turnout, raise money and highlight Republican candidates.

RNC spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre told CBS News the purpose is “to drive turnout to the polls in November.” She said the party wants “to rally voters around the president, his agenda and candidates who are going to highlight that agenda in Congress.”

But the convention also highlights a divide inside the party over how closely candidates in swing races should align themselves with Trump. CBS News said it contacted 60 battleground gubernatorial, Senate and House candidates; four confirmed they would attend, five said they would not, and 51 did not respond. The RNC said more than two dozen candidates are scheduled to speak, and a person familiar with the event told CBS News more than 100 GOP candidates and elected officials are expected to attend.

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, whose district Trump won by fewer than 300 votes in 2024, said he would not attend. “Our bosses are back home,” Fitzpatrick said. “Times are tough, and we need to be listening to everything they’re saying about the struggles that they’re encountering in their budgets and their kitchen table and their businesses, healthcare and act on it. That’s the way the system’s supposed to work … not going to some convention center holding signs up.”

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida also said she would stay in her district. “I have to be campaigning. No one votes for me in Washington or in Dallas. I have to be in Miami,” she said.

Others in competitive races are appearing, including Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Monica De La Cruz of Texas and Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, according to CBS News. Al Jazeera reported that former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, Ohio Sen. Jon Husted and Georgia Rep. Mike Collins are also expected to attend.

The speaking schedule features Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Cabinet officials and Trump allies. CBS News reported that Trump plans to attend both nights, with a keynote address Wednesday, and that Vance is set to headline Thursday. Al Jazeera reported that Trump is scheduled to speak both nights, including the closing keynote Thursday, while Vance will close the first night.

Fundraising has also drawn attention. CBS News reported that donor packages reviewed in an August email began at $15,000, with higher-tier options at $30,000, $60,000, $105,000 and $150,000. The National Republican Congressional Committee initially asked House members to contribute at least $25,000 to attend, CBS News reported, though NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said he distributed 2,000 free tickets to colleagues and staff.

Sunoco Chair Ray Washburne, who chairs the convention’s host committee, called the gathering “very advantageous” for candidates who attend, saying it offers access to donors, administration officials and party figures. “We have a high degree of candidates coming, we pretty much have every race represented here, except for a couple that couldn’t break away,” he told CBS News.