WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will descend on Dallas this week for a two-day convention masterminded by President Donald Trump to rally his supporters for this year’s midterm elections. Trump has said he wanted to channel the kind of political spectacle each party puts on every four years to formally nominate a presidential candidate and showcase their vision for the country. There will even be a big balloon drop at the end. Republicans have never held a midterm convention before, although Democrats did in the 1970s and ’80s. Here are some things to watch on Wednesday and Thursday: Why is this happening? Trump had long floated the idea of holding such a convention, and Republicans worked to make his wish come true. Midterm elections are typically difficult for the party in power in Washington, and Trump believes the event can spur enthusiasm for the party and increase turnout among its voters. “Please pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump said recently in South Carolina. “Just come and vote.” Republicans said the event will help catapult their candidates into November, but will also showcase the first two years of Trump’s term. Although the president’s poll numbers are falling, he insists that running on his record will give Republicans the best chance to win. Who will go to the convention? The presidential nominating conventions held every four years by Republicans and Democrats typically draw thousands of rank-and-file party members chosen as delegates to represent their states and participate in the ceremonial nominating process. No nominations will be awarded this time, as that has already been resolved through primary races. The event will also be open to the public, which could make it feel more like a Trump rally than a convention. More than 100 Republican House members and candidates are expected to be in Dallas, according to a person familiar with the event who requested anonymity before it begins. They had to pay $25,000 for tickets and lodging, which the person described as typical for political conventions. Some lawmakers in competitive races have indicated they will not attend or have not determined their plans less than a week before the convention. Sign up for the Ground Game newsletter: your guide to the biggest stories in American politics, policy and elections. Who will speak at the convention? Trump will speak every night. He will deliver a keynote speech on Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear again Thursday after a speech by Vice President JD Vance. A long list of speakers includes members of Trump’s Cabinet such as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Also addressing the crowd will be Attorney General Todd Blanche, the son of President Donald Trump Jr., and former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, as well as Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton and Mike Rogers, the party’s Senate candidate in Michigan. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Texas Senator Ted Cruz will give speeches, as will many incumbents and candidates in some key and competitive House and Senate races across the country. Every day Americans are expected to take turns on stage to share how they have benefited from the president’s policies. Organizers have said there will be more than 50 speakers or presentations each night, and many of the comments will be brief to keep the pace fast for viewers and easy to share online. Trump also promised that there will be “a lot of great entertainment” and called it “a RALLY like no other.” What will they focus on? The party’s candidates will appear, including Texas Senate hopeful Paxton, whom Trump controversially endorsed rather than backing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Despite years of scandals, Paxton won with Trump’s endorsement, giving Democrats an opponent they consider more beatable in an otherwise conservative state. Trump has said that one of the focuses of the Texas convention will be Paxton and will try to get him elected, saying that “he is a good man.” But much of the show focuses on Trump’s agenda, from his crackdown on immigration, his efforts to lower prescription drug prices, the sweeping tax and spending cuts he signed last year and his tariffs, along with a partisan case against Democrats. Expect many of the speakers to echo Trump’s lines of attack that portray Democrats as communists.___This story was updated to correct the Texas Senate candidate’s name to Ken Paxton, not Ken Paxon.___Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
