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President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, June 30, that Republicans will host their "first-ever" national political convention for the midterm elections ahead of this fall's pivotal races.Trump confirmed in a post on Truth Social that the convention will be held in Dallas on Sept. 9-10, but he did not immediately provide additional details about the event. Political conventions are typically massive gatherings reserved for presidential election years, where parties formally nominate their candidates for the general election.Trump went on to call Dallas “one of my favorite places in the world” and said it would be a “RALLY like none other.” In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said the September convention will "highlight President Trump's many accomplishments.""This convention will be a Trumpapalooza, where we will showcase the America First agenda, which has delivered the largest tax cut in history and made communities safer," Gruters said.The unorthodox midterm convention comes as Democrats continue to poll stronger than Republicans ahead of November's critical elections. According to a poll released by Quinnipiac University on June 24, Democrats led the GOP by 7 points in who Americans wanted to control the House of Representatives.Though 2026 is set to be the first of the events for the GOP, midterm conventions were routine for Democrats in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1978, Democrats held a convention in Memphis after that year's midterms, and in 1982, the party gathered in Philadelphia the summer before that year's elections.Still, Tuesday’s announcement comes after months of speculation on the site of the convention – and whether it would even happen in the first place. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is currently running for Senate, hinted that a convention would take place in the Lone Star State in a tele-town hall earlier this month."I know that we are having the midterm convention in Dallas in September," Paxton said. "I know that we anticipate [Trump] coming to that and speaking."Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
