A look at this week’s GOP midterm convention, including which Republicans are staying away

Republicans will gather in Dallas this week for a midterm convention that’s a version of the type normally held in presidential election years.

President Donald Trump, party leaders, and battleground candidates comprise the 109 planned speakers who are there to set their agenda and rally voters, with the post-Labor Day sprint to Election Day underway. The program starts at 4 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday and Thursday.

Here’s a look at some of the notable speakers and attendees.

The midterms convention features speaking slots for a series of 2026 candidates from safe red seats to the most competitive battleground races.

It’s a calculated risk for the battleground contenders, who could benefit from national exposure, presidential favor, and fundraising support, but risk alienating swing voters by appearing at what Republicans are calling a “Trump-a-palooza.”

Among those banking on the upside of attending are Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Derrick Van Orden (WI-03), Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07) and Rob Bresnahan (PA-08).

In addition, representing the Senate battlegrounds are five Republican candidates set for some of the most competitive, high-profile races of the fall – Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, and former RNC Chair Michael Whatley in North Carolina.

And speaking for the gubernatorial contingent are Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term, and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, aiming to succeed outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“A lot of these races are going to be very, very tight as we’ve seen in midterm cycles past,” RNC national press secretary Natalie Baldassarre told CNN. “So, our goal is to remind voters who aren’t necessarily politically engaged all of the time that there is an election in November and it is critical for them to get out to vote.”

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A handful of House members facing tough reelection campaigns are skipping the convention, including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27), Tom Barrett (MI-07), Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06), Rep. Zach Nunn (IA-03), and David Valadao (CA-22). Rep. Tom Tiffany, the GOP nominee for Wisconsin governor, won’t attend either.

And several of the party’s nominees in key Senate races are not speaking either. They include Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, and former New Hampshire Sen. John E. Sununu, who represent the rest of the seriously contested map.

One GOP source said the decision by the National Republican Congressional Committee to ask House lawmakers to pay at least $25,000 a ticket contributed to turnout in Dallas.

“I do think it had an impact on member attendance for sure,” the GOP source said. “Obviously there are some members who are in tighter races who feel it’s probably more beneficial to be on the campaign trail.”

A source familiar with the NRCC said the $25,000 price tag is lower than past conventions and is standard for committees to do at conventions. The source added that the committee has distributed all available tickets, which amounts to over 2,700.

“House Republicans and our strong candidates in the most competitive battleground districts across the country are fired up to be in Dallas and take our message straight to voters and lay bare what’s at stake this November,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement to CNN.

Despite the expected absences from some candidates in key contests, Trump touted the convention on social media Tuesday night as “totally sold out.”

“Everybody wants to be there, but we’re really asking only those Candidates that are in tight Races, a little up, a little down, or even, to speak. We want to save the ‘stage’ for them,” the president said. “We don’t need people who are up 45 points, and have been in office for 30 years, as much as we love them all!

The convention itself is the product of Trump’s love for pageantry and spectacle. To fulfill his wish of staging a political convention this year, Republican leaders had to change party rules that previously only called for a convention during presidential election years.

“It will be a RALLY like none other!” Trump posted on social media over the summer, announcing the plans.

The president is poised to dominate the event. Trump will serve as both the keynote speaker on Wednesday night and the closing speaker on Thursday.

Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, is slated for a prominent role as the keynote speaker on Thursday.

Several other administration leaders are also set to speak, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.

Attorney General Todd Blanche is also speaking, a notable appearance at a partisan event despite the traditionally nonpartisan disposition of his role leading the Justice Department.

Finally, former press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Donald Trump Jr. round out the list of Trump representatives set to speak at the convention.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has sometimes kept Trump at arm’s length, is conspicuously absent from the list of GOP congressional leaders set to speak, though he’s expected to attend and told the New York Post that he would give others “a turn in the spotlight” and help with fundraising.

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GOP House leadership including Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson all have speaking slots.

On the Senate side, Majority Whip John Barrasso and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott are also set to speak.

And attendees will hear from Gruters, the RNC chair, a pivotal organizer who spoke to the need to galvanize voters.

“I think we’re on the cusp of defying history. You know, only four times in 150 years the incumbent party has been able to win these midterms,” he told Fox News this week. “It’s really going to give us a chance to tell the story to the American people directly on the message of everything that the president has done well.”

A pair of Republican officeholders not on the ballot this year are also speaking at the convention. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is set to address the home-state crowd as well as Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick.

CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed to this report.

本周，共和党人将在达拉斯举行中期选举大会，该大会与通常在总统选举年举行的大会类似。

总统唐纳德·特朗普、各党派领导人和关键州的候选人将出席此次活动，发表109场演讲，阐述各自的竞选纲领并动员选民，此时正值劳动节后冲刺大选之际。活动将于周三和周四下午4点（美国东部时间）开始。

以下是一些值得关注的演讲嘉宾和与会者的介绍。

中期选举大会安排了一系列 2026 年总统候选人的演讲环节，候选人来自各大稳固的共和党选区，以及竞争最激烈的摇摆州。

对于摇摆州的竞争者来说，这是一个经过深思熟虑的风险，他们可能会从全国性的曝光、总统的青睐和筹款支持中受益，但同时也可能因为参加共和党人所谓的“特朗普狂欢节”而疏远摇摆选民。

指望出席会议能带来好处的人包括众议员迈克·劳勒（纽约州第17选区）、德里克·范·奥登（威斯康星州第3选区）、莫妮卡·德拉·克鲁兹（德克萨斯州第15选区）、瑞安·麦肯齐（宾夕法尼亚州第7选区）和罗布·布雷斯纳汉（宾夕法尼亚州第8选区）。

此外，还有五位共和党候选人将代表参议院的几个关键战场，参加今年秋季竞争最激烈、最受瞩目的几场选举——俄亥俄州参议员乔恩·赫斯特德、德克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿、佐治亚州众议员迈克·柯林斯、前密歇根州众议员迈克·罗杰斯以及北卡罗来纳州的前共和党全国委员会主席迈克尔·沃特利。

代表州长候选人发言的是德克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特，他正在寻求史无前例的第四个任期；以及佛罗里达州众议员拜伦·唐纳兹，他的目标是接替即将卸任的州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯。

“正如我们在过去几次中期选举中看到的那样，很多选情都会非常胶着，”共和党全国委员会新闻秘书娜塔莉·巴尔达萨雷告诉CNN。“所以，我们的目标是提醒那些并非一直关注政治的选民，11月将举行选举，他们务必积极投票。”

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一些面临艰难连任竞选的众议院议员将缺席此次党代会，其中包括佛罗里达州第27选区的玛丽亚·埃尔维拉·萨拉查议员、密歇根州第7选区的汤姆·巴雷特议员、亚利桑那州第6选区的胡安·西斯科马尼议员、爱荷华州第3选区的扎克·纳恩议员以及加利福尼亚州第22选区的戴维·瓦拉道议员。共和党威斯康星州州长候选人、众议员汤姆·蒂芙尼也将缺席。

该党在关键参议院竞选中的几位候选人也保持沉默。他们包括缅因州参议员苏珊·柯林斯、阿拉斯加州参议员丹·沙利文、爱荷华州众议员阿什利·欣森以及前新罕布什尔州参议员约翰·E·苏努努，他们代表着竞争激烈的选区中的其他席位。

一位共和党消息人士称，全国共和党国会委员会要求众议院议员每张门票至少支付 25,000 美元，这一决定促成了达拉斯的投票率。

“我认为这肯定对党员出席率产生了影响，”这位共和党消息人士说。“显然，有些选情胶着的党员觉得，参加竞选活动可能更有利。”

一位熟悉全国共和党国会委员会（NRCC）的消息人士称，2.5万美元的费用低于以往的党代会，也是各委员会在党代会上通常的做法。该消息人士还补充说，委员会已经发放了所有可用的门票，总计超过2700张。

“众议院共和党人和我们在全国竞争最激烈的摇摆选区的强力候选人都充满热情地来到达拉斯，将我们的信息直接传达给选民，并阐明今年11月大选的利害关系，”全国共和党国会委员会发言人迈克·马里内拉在给CNN的一份声明中说。

尽管一些关键竞选的候选人预计会缺席，但特朗普周二晚上在社交媒体上吹嘘大会“门票全部售罄”。

“每个人都想来，但我们真正想邀请的只是那些选情胶着、支持率略高、略低，甚至势均力敌的候选人发言。我们想把‘舞台’留给他们，”总统说。“我们不需要那些领先45个百分点、已经执政30年的人，尽管我们都很爱他们！”

这次大会本身就是特朗普喜爱盛大场面和炫耀性场面的产物。为了满足他今年举办政治大会的愿望，共和党领导人不得不修改党章，因为此前党章只规定在总统选举年才能召开大会。

“这将是一场前所未有的集会！”特朗普在夏季通过社交媒体宣布了这项计划。

总统势必主导此次活动。特朗普将分别于周三晚发表主旨演讲，并于周四作闭幕演讲。

与此同时，副总裁 JD Vance 将在周四担任主题演讲嘉宾，扮演重要角色。

其他几位政府领导人也将发表讲话，包括财政部长斯科特·贝森特、卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪、医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心主任穆罕默德·奥兹以及住房和城市发展部部长斯科特·特纳。

司法部长托德·布兰奇也将发表讲话，尽管他领导的司法部历来秉持非党派立场，但他此次出席党派活动仍然引人注目。

最后，前新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特和唐纳德·特朗普二世也位列将在大会上发言的特朗普代表名单中。

参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩有时与特朗普保持距离，他明显不在共和党国会领导人发言名单之列，尽管预计他会出席，并且他告诉《纽约邮报》，他会给其他人“聚光灯下的机会”，并帮助筹款。

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包括众议院议长迈克·约翰逊、多数党领袖史蒂夫·斯卡利斯、多数党党鞭汤姆·埃默、共和党会议主席丽莎·麦克莱恩和全国共和党国会委员会主席理查德·哈德森在内的共和党众议院领导层都将在会上发言。

参议院方面，多数党党鞭约翰·巴拉索和全国共和党参议员委员会主席蒂姆·斯科特也将发表讲话。

与会者还将听到共和党全国委员会主席格鲁特斯的讲话，他是一位重要的组织者，强调了动员选民的必要性。

“我认为我们正处于改写历史的边缘。你知道，在过去150年里，执政党只有四次赢得过中期选举，”他本周告诉福克斯新闻。“这真的会给我们一个机会，直接向美国人民讲述总统所做的一切好事。”

两位今年未参选的共和党官员也将在大会上发表讲话。德克萨斯州参议员特德·克鲁兹和宾夕法尼亚州参议员戴维·麦考密克都将在大会上向家乡父老发表演讲。

CNN的安妮·格雷尔对本报道亦有贡献。