Thousands of Republican Party members will visit Dallas this September 9th and 10th at the American Airlines Center, the first-ever midterm national convention.
NBC 5’s Phil Prazan spoke to the Republican National Committee Chair, Joe Gruters, about the decision.
President Donald Trump is facing his worst poll numbers ever, and the President’s party typically loses in the midterms.
GOP leaders are betting on Dallas to turn around their fortunes.
“The president loves Dallas, and, you know, Texas is a perfect spot to host something that’s never been, never has happened before. We’re excited about it. We got three competitive congressional districts. We have a Senate district we’re watching,” Gruters said.
Gruters says there will be no official party business at the convention; instead, he’s aiming for a pep rally to get Republican voters excited about November elections.
Sources tell NBC 5 the focus is fundraising now that parties can officially coordinate with candidates, specifically Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s race against State Representative James Talarico (D).
“We’ll do whatever is needed to make sure Ken Paxton is gonna get over the finish line as a winner. But in our books, and if you look at my board in terms of the competitive races, we think Ken Paxton’s an easy winner. But just like any races, we always watch out and see how they’re doing and the direction they’re going,” Gruters said.
The Democrats are planning counter-programming.
“I don’t get nervous when the circus comes to town because I’m not afraid of clowns. I mean, of course they pick Texas. Of course they picked Dallas. I love hanging out in Dallas. That’s why I live here,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder said.
Democrats are hoping to flip Texas blue for the first time in decades.
“I mean there’s a lot of battlegrounds all across the country right now. Their internal polling must be telling them that they have something to be afraid of here in Texas,” Scudder said.
The election is November 3. Texans will vote for U.S. Senate, Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and many of the statewide positions.
