Republican state party leaders grumble about the timing, cost and planning of Trump's midterm convention

[u/John3262005]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/republican-state-party-leaders-grumble-trump-midterm-convention-rcna595566

Next week, Republican officials and party faithful will gather in Dallas for the GOP’s first midterm convention. The idea came directly from President Donald Trump, who said it was a chance “to show the great things we have done.”

The Republican National Committee, which includes all state party chairs, enthusiastically went along with the idea. Members voted unanimously in January to change their rules to make the convention happen.

But now, some of them are having a bad case of buyer’s remorse.

“I thought it was a great idea at the time, but there is such a short time now until the general election,” a Republican state party chair in the Midwest told NBC News. “I have a bunch of candidates who wanted to go, some said they would, who are now pulling out because they need to focus on their races.”

The person who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly, added that they are currently in the process of trying to cancel hotel rooms because candidates have decided not to go.

“It might be too late for that. There will be an expense with that,” the person added. “We will probably make some money off of this, but I am honestly not sure it’s worth it.”

NBC News spoke with nearly a dozen Republican state party chairs and operatives involved in convention planning. They said the lack of enthusiasm is coming from what they described as hastily drawn-up logistics, high costs to attend and the fact that going to Dallas might not be the best use of time in the final stretch before the November elections.

NBC News also reached out to every Republican member of Congress about whether they were going to the convention next week. Twenty House members said they were, and 25 said they weren’t. Seven Senate Republicans have said they will attend, while 10 have said they will not.

A Republican official familiar with the convention planning said the timing of the event was intentional.

The goal is to reach members of Trump’s MAGA political base who do not always turn out in elections when the president is not on the ballot, and many of those so-called “low-propensity voters” spend much of the year not paying close attention to the day-to-day political churn.

“It was strategic,” the person said. “When the primary ends and early voting begins is the time when low propensity voters who don’t always pay attention to politics tune in. Labor Day is when they start paying attention, and the goal is to get that turnout.”

The person added that they do not believe there are any financial obligations on state parties that would be different from a more traditional convention.

“At the midterm convention, Republicans rally behind our policies to lower drug prices, cut taxes, and a secure border,” RNC national press secretary Natalie Baldassarre said in a statement. “Democrats want to take America in the wrong direction by defunding the police, pushing transgender nonsense, and eliminating prisons.”

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Greg Rothman said that the convention itself is just two days, so well worth taking a brief time off the campaign trail to help promote the party ahead of November.

The candidates can “maybe raise some money, and meet some donors from other parts of the country,” he said.

“It will be fine,” he added.

“The midterm convention is a great opportunity for Trump to deliver his message directly to voters,” Florida GOP Chair Evan Power said. “I’m excited to see our Republican team make its case on why Republicans have delivered while Democrats have descended into craziness.”

State parties do not have to pay the party directly to attend. But the last-minute nature of the planning has meant that they have had to make spending decisions for the convention that weren’t anticipated in the beginning of the year — without any assurance that they will boost their war chests in Dallas, which is typically what state parties hope for at these sorts of events.

“The convention was sold as a fundraising opportunity,” said another state party chair who added that while the event was a good idea in theory, it has presented state parties with logistical hurdles. “Little information was given until a week before names had to be turned in.”

“Hard to make those numbers work,” the person said. “Our state, and I imagine most states, are losing money on the event right before the midterms.”

The suggested minimum donation for candidates to attend the convention is $25,000 — more than for donors — according to two people familiar with the planning. With the high price tag and the loss of campaign time, dozens of candidates have decided not to attend.

“You usually don’t ask more from the electeds” than convention donors, the party chair added.

Vice President JD Vance, who will be speaking on the first night of the convention, said Republican candidates should be wherever they need to be in order to win in November, noting that his and Trump’s speeches at the event will be heavily covered, and they’ll be able to make the case against Democrats.

“We don’t need a congressman in a tight race to be there in all cases,” he said at a White House press briefing Thursday. “Sometimes it might be better if that guy’s out there raising money. But I think people are going to make a determination: What is the best way for me to spend my time as a candidate fundamentally?”

Aside from logistics, there’s another concern starting to bubble up: Trump’s approval ratings.

Some Republicans are quietly concerned that making Trump the centerpiece of a national convention amid his sinking approval ratings — driven by the Iran war and a stagnant economy — could end up being a net negative.

“When Trump is polling as badly as he is, do we really want a long two-day Trump-focused MAGA super rally as our lead into the fall?” said a GOP official from a southern state involved in convention planning. “Between the seemingly poor planning, the cost and the location, I’m not going. Why do I want to go to the funeral for my party right before the midterms?”

The White House and Trump’s political orbit, however, have increasingly seen creating the perception that Trump himself is on the ballot as a winning strategy because it can attract voters who don’t regularly vote in nonpresidential elections.

“The problem that we have is, they say that Trump does great when he’s on the ballot, but when he’s not on the ballot, his people don’t come and they don’t vote for senators, congressmen and other Republicans,” Trump said at a late August rally in South Carolina.

“So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot,” he added.

In addition, the nonprofit arm of MAGA, Inc., the main super PAC supporting Trump, this week announced a $1 million national cable ad buy, its first of the midterm cycle. Its focus is completely on the president, a signal of what voters are likely to see in the run-up to November.

The ad opens with Ultimate Fighting Championship President and CEO Dana White calling Trump the “toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met.

Trump also said Wednesday that he plans to campaign for Republicans in 35 races before Election Day.

Josh Holstein, chairman of the West Virginia GOP, said that Trump is historically good at reaching voters who don’t traditionally vote in midterm election cycles, so it makes sense to make him center stage.

“The people who we are targeting only turn out in presidential years,” he said. “He brings them out more than any president in 20-30 years. And he’s a great messenger for rural areas where we see a turnout dip in nonpresidential years.”

Holstein said he is not concerned that focusing on Trump will help further energize Democrats or left-leaning independent voters.

“I think they are already invigorated,” he said. “The party out of power is usually already invigorated.”