Can the 'best showman in politics' deliver again? GOP bets on Trump at historic midterm convention

DALLAS — The stakes couldn’t be much higher for President Donald Trump and Republicans.

With less than two months until the midterm elections — and early voting just weeks away — Trump and the GOP descend on Texas starting Wednesday for the party’s first-ever midterm convention, as Republicans fight to keep control of Congress.

The GOP's playbook for the convention, which comes as Republicans face energized Democrats and political headwinds as they defend their slim House and Senate majorities, is to energize the party's base and boost turnout in key races that will determine control of Congress.

"We are putting the president on the ballot," Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the gathering. "That's exactly what we're doing with this midterm convention."

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Democrats and Republicans traditionally hold large nominating conventions during presidential election years. However, 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 since he returned to the White House.

But Republicans are facing a low-propensity problem: MAGA voters who don't always go to the polls when Trump's name isn't on the ballot.

The GOP's solution: Hold what's been touted as a "Trumpapalooza."

"We have the best showman in politics in President Donald J. Trump," Gruters said. "He is the best vote getter for these little propensity voters. He's done it three times. He's going to deliver once again."

According to a speakers list, which was shared first with Fox News Digital on the eve of the convention, the president will deliver Wednesday's keynote address, which is tentatively scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET.

Trump will return on Thursday evening at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas to close out the convention, with remarks after Vice President JD Vance gives the second night's keynote speech.

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But the GOP is fighting political history, which has traditionally seen the party in power in Washington lose congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation Americans see at the grocery store, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump's negative approval ratings.

Gruters said, "in order to defy history, you've got to do things a little bit differently and that's why we're doing this Republican convention."

"We're going to use him where we can, where it's going to be advantageous," Gruters said of Trump. "We think that this midterm convention and what we're doing over the next couple of days will be just the start of some very exciting things over the next two months."

Democrats, obviously, see it differently.

"Democrats are going to win back power," Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin predicted last month at the party's summer meeting as he looked towards the midterms.

The DNC, which remains in debt and decided against holding a similar convention, views the GOP gathering as an opportunity to criticize Republicans.

"While working families struggle to make ends meet in Donald Trump’s economy, Republicans are throwing a multi-million dollar party to celebrate Trump’s failing presidency," Martin argued in a convention eve statement. "Democrats are on the ground talking to voters about how to lower costs, expand affordable health care, and make life more affordable, offering real solutions while Republicans desperately attempt to paper over their billionaire-first agenda."

Democrats have also spotlighted the sizable number of Republican politicians who are staying away from the Dallas gathering.

Asked about the no-shows, Gruters said, "There's some people in tight races, they want to stay home. But listen, if you look at our speaker list, we have tons of those toss-up candidates that are here that are going to speak, that understand the value of the messaging and that we could deliver directly to the American people."

Midterm elections are often a referendum on the party in power, but Republicans aim to use the convention to draw a contrast as they spotlight Democrats' leftward lurch in this year's primaries and tie the party to far-left and socialist proposals.

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Gruters said speakers at the convention will ask Americans, "Do you want common sense and mainstream, or do you want the extreme left and these radicals that have been elected who fundamentally want to change our country."

"They want to fundamentally change the way you live at home," Gruters claimed as he referred to the Democrats.

The other part of the convention gameplan is to showcase Trump's second-term achievements.

"He delivered for the American worker more so than anybody has over the last five decades," Gruters claimed. "Things like the Working Family Tax Cuts, the fair trade policies, the $19 trillion in investments that you're not going to feel right now today, but you will over time. Him constantly going to bat for the American worker, Trump RX accounts... This president understands what it takes and has empathy for what people are going through."

Also boosting the GOP: Money.

In the midterm battle, the RNC comes into the convention with a major campaign cash advantage over the DNC.

"We've been raising a lot of money. We've been saving that money," Gruters emphasized. "Now over the next 60 days you're going to see us spend that money to make sure we could turn out our voters, to make sure people know exactly where our candidates stand and where the opposition stands."