Trump announces first-ever Republican midterm convention in Dallas

Donald Trump is putting his name at the center of Republicans’ 2026 midterm push, announcing a first-ever national convention in Dallas on Sept. 9-10. The gathering is planned for the American Airlines Center and is meant to rally turnout before November, when control of Congress is at stake.

Republicans have traditionally held national conventions only in presidential-election years, but the Republican National Committee changed its rules in January to allow a midterm convention. Democrats have not planned a similar event. The move gives Trump and the party a high-profile stage months before early voting begins anywhere, and it marks a break with a routine that has long kept conventions tied to presidential races.

Trump said the convention will celebrate the “Great American comeback” and will highlight tax cuts, border security and lower costs. He plans to address the gathering himself, keeping the midterm message closely tied to his own political brand rather than to a broader, less personalized party rollout. Republican leaders have cast the convention as a way to energize low-propensity voters and sharpen the party’s message well before November.

The timing also reflects Republican anxiety about the political environment. Republicans generally lose congressional seats in the first midterm after a president is elected, and party leaders are watching for voter unease over the economy and Trump’s Iran policy, concerns Reuters said have raised fears about turnout. By staging a national convention in an off year, Republicans are trying to fight that pattern early and in public.

Dallas gives the effort an added layer of political meaning. The city last hosted a Republican convention in 1984, and this year’s event will put Texas and its competitive U.S. Senate race in the national spotlight. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, backed by Trump, is facing Democrat James Talarico after defeating longtime Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.

Republicans see the Dallas gathering as a way to keep Trump at the center of the party’s campaign operation and project discipline across races for Congress. For a party preparing to defend its power in November, the convention is both a rally and a test of whether Trump can still serve as the GOP’s main organizing force.