Republicans to hold a midterm convention, creating two problems

Most voters probably know that the nation’s major political parties gather every four years for a major national convention, at which they formally nominate their respective presidential tickets. The quadrennial events also offer the parties an opportunity to put their best foot forward while they have the national spotlight.

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But there’s been some talk in recent months about something more unusual: a midterm convention.

Axios reported nearly a year ago that Democratic officials were exploring the possibility of a large-scale 2026 convention, and Donald Trump announced online soon after that he was “thinking of recommending” the same idea. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the president called him to discuss the possibility, and he told Trump, “That’s genius.”

As the process moved forward, the Democratic National Committee ultimately decided not to bother with such a gathering, but earlier this year the Republican National Committee approved a plan for a midterm convention, and it now appears that it’s actually going to happen. The Associated Press reported:

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Republicans will hold their first-ever national convention ahead of November’s midterm elections, an unusual event aimed at boosting turnout in races that will decide whether the party maintains control of Congress.

The convention will be held in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10.

The announcement came by way of a presidential statement published to his social media platform, in which Trump boasted that the gathering will be “fantastic” and “historic,” adding, “It will be a RALLY like none other!”

The fact that the party is going through with this isn’t too surprising — the House speaker said in April that he “can’t wait for the midterm convention that we’re going to have,” leaving little doubt that this was likely — though events like these have become highly unusual.

The DNC held midterm conventions in the 1970s and ’80s, before giving up on the practice ahead of the 1986 cycle. (That decision didn’t hurt the party: Democrats gained five U.S. House seats and eight U.S. Senate seats that year.)