Republicans are billing their first-ever midterm convention as a chance to seize back momentum after months of bad headlines, but behind the optimistic messaging, signs suggest the party isn't sure how many candidates — or voters — will actually show up.
Reuters contacted representatives for Republican candidates in 37 competitive House races and eight competitive Senate races to ask whether they'd attend and speak, but only one of the 45, Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett's team, confirmed he would skip the Sept. 9-10 event entirely to stay on the trail in his own district.
Advisers to other competitive campaigns told Reuters they simply hadn't been told yet whether their candidates would get speaking slots at all, and event strategist Doug Landry pointed out a major scheduling conflict for speeches by Vice President JD Vance on Sept. 9 and President Donald Trump on Sept. 10.
"I do not envy the staffers who will have to tell Trump that they're not able to fill the arena or have anyone watching at home because they scheduled BOTH NIGHTS of the midterm convention directly against the opening games of the NFL season," Landry posted on X, showing the schedule for prime time pro football games on each night.
Organizer Ray Washburne, a donor co-chairing the event, projects roughly 30,000 attendees — more than the American Airlines Center's seating capacity — though the timing, also coinciding with the start of the school year, has already led one state party chair to return a chunk of his delegation's allotted seats after members said they couldn't make the schedule work.
Some Republican strategists are openly skeptical the event will register with voters at all.
"I don't know that we're going to see a convention in Dallas change what happens in Cheyenne, Wyoming, or Charleston, South Carolina," said South Carolina-based strategist Dave Wilson. "I don't think the average Republican voter even knows there's a convention going on."
One strategist working a competitive race, granted anonymity, questioned the wisdom of tying candidates more closely to a president whose approval rating has sunk to 33 percent, the lowest of his presidency, warning it could undercut contenders trying to appeal to independents on local issues.
RNC spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the convention would provide "the momentum needed to expand our majorities in November," and Washburne insisted most of Trump's Cabinet and "pretty much everyone running in a hot race" would show.
RNC member Oscar Brock said many candidates would ultimately feel obligated to attend regardless, if only to court donors and grab media exposure — even those otherwise wary of standing too close to Trump this close to November.