Empty seats, socialism and Trump dominate the Republican midterm convention

President Trump watches as balloons fall at the Republican convention Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Alex Brandon/AP

DALLAS — As red, white, blue and gold balloons dropped from the ceiling, President Trump stood on stage to mark the end of his midterm convention, serenaded by a favorite aria.

Puccini's opera "Nessun dorma" ends with a triumphant proclamation: "vincerò," or "I will win!"

But the Republican Party's chances in November are less optimistic, as Trump faces record low approval ratings, an unpopular war in Iran, rising gas prices and the historic expectation that the party in power loses.

The two day party at the American Airlines Center in Dallas highlighted the GOP's biggest asset in getting out the vote — Trump — and its greatest obstacle in convincing voters to keep Republicans in power — also Trump.

Throughout the convention, members of the administration and candidates locked in tight races offered little distance from the president and his vision of the future.

In his keynote address Wednesday, Trump made headlines for an impossible promise to give American adults $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate, and reiterated the GOP's messaging that paints November as a choice between "common sense versus crazy."

Here are the takeaways from the Republican Party's midterm convention.

Republicans have an enthusiasm problem

One of the more common pleas was for Trump supporters to support other Republicans.

"I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," the president implored the first day.

"You know what happens if you don't vote? You go to hell," he said on the second night.

After suffering defeats in 2024, Democrats have now expressed more enthusiasm to vote, have flipped a number of state and local seats and improved their margins with nearly every voter demographic group in elections across the country since then.

At the same time, the Republican base has fractured over key issues in the last 18 months, including the war in Iran, the handling of the release of the Epstein files, surging gas prices and rising costs driven by tariffs.

Trump is a singular force in motivating the current Republican base to vote and his magnetism was on display at the convention, which featured credentials emblazoned with his likeness, pictures of the president on display throughout the arena and speeches that praised him as one of the best leaders in American history.

But for many other speakers, including nominees in key House and Senate races, the reception was less enthusiastic. The entertainer Adam Carolla, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saw some of the warmest receptions and had more time on the stage than figures like North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley or Ohio's Republican senator, John Husted.

Both days, there were thousands of empty seats, including almost all of the upper level, even as Trump insisted the arena was "packed" with "thousands" more waiting outside.

Empty seats are scattered throughout the crowd on the second day of the 2026 Republican National Convention in Dallas. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The message emphasized personal attacks over policy

As Republican candidates hone their general election message, a frequent feature of the speeches was the personal attacks and insults hurled at Democratic opponents that reiterated the view that the election was about stopping Democrats from having any power and challenging Trump's agenda.

Whatley said his opponent Roy Cooper was the "the worst governor in the history of North Carolina" when it came to keeping children safe. Husted said former Sen. Sherrod Brown "put Shanghai over Steubenville and Beijing over Brunswick," spending the last 50 years "leaving families like mine behind."

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., said his opponent Bob Brooks was a "far-left nut job."

There were speakers who touted the sweeping tax and spending cuts passed last year, executive action Trump took to undo Biden-era initiatives and a promise that, if still in power, Republicans would keep working to make things better for Americans.

The rise of the -isms

Part of the convention's messaging paints the Democrats as a party that has capitulated to more extreme factions of the left. Several speakers said that extreme left believes in policies that Republicans say are a danger to the American way of life

Communism. Socialism. Marxism. Terrorism.

All of these were mentioned repeatedly, especially in relation to Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

"You don't sympathize with terrorists, you don't sanitize extremism, and you sure don't ask the people of Michigan to send you to the United States Senate while surrounding yourself with people who despise America," former Rep. Mike Rogers said of his opponent. "Abdul El-Sayed may be comfortable with that crowd. I certainly am not. He's a con man. I'm a law man."

Wednesday, Trump said that America "has beaten communism before and we will beat it again."

"In state after state, the Democrat establishment has been overthrown and replaced by crazed lunatics and radicals," Trump said. "They call themselves Democrat socialists, but actually they're communists. They're not socialists. They're long beyond socialists."

What war?

Trump campaigned on a promise of "no new wars," but the war in Iran is still ongoing with no resolution in sight.

The conflict has led to higher gas prices, with diesel topping $6 a gallon and the price of crude oil shooting to near-record highs.

Vice President Vance speaks on stage on the second day of the 2026 Republican National Convention on Sept. 10, 2026 in Dallas. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Alex Wong/Getty Images

But speakers barely acknowledged the war or the military, save for a plea from Vice President Vance that people who disagree with the administration's policy "not throw the baby out with the bathwater" by voting for Democrats.

"Don't give the country over to a bunch of crazy people because you happen to disagree with us on a policy issue here or there," he said. "Look, I'm not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue. I'm not asking anybody to agree on every single policy of the administration. What I am asking you to do is to recognize the contrast with the radicals and recognize the achievements of the last 18 months."

2028 looms over everything

Speaking of Vance, he and some other potential 2028 Republican presidential contenders spoke at the convention, though there was not a clear passing of the torch moment.

Convention attendee Meredith Smith said she wishes she could vote for Trump again.

"Trump is kind of a one time thing," she told NPR's Tamara Keith. "I really think God picked him personally for such a time as this."

Like many Republicans NPR spoke to, Smith mentioned Vance as the party's likely heir apparent. Her friend Sherri Hopson is also looking to the president's cabinet for what comes next.

"[Trump's] built this Republican Party and the bench is deep," Hopson said. "I have a lot of faith in JD Vance and Marco Rubio and I really hope they run as a ticket."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr., possible 2028 hopefuls, also spoke.

It may be too late to turn the tide

The midterm convention comes after Labor Day, which is widely considered the kickoff to the general election season. Current polling averages show Republicans at risk of losing the majority in both the House and the Senate.

In many key races, Democratic candidates have outraised and outspent their Republican opponents and have dominated the airwaves. But official Republican Party committees and Trump's MAGA, Inc. super PAC are sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars that they could deploy to blitz voters with their messaging in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Still, those polls illustrate a fundamental disconnect between the issues voters want candidates to address and what they feel the Republican Party is focused on. Last-minute ad spending may not be enough to persuade people to change their support — or show up to vote at all.

Mail ballots are already being returned in states like North Carolina, in-person early voting will begin soon and many television ad reservations have already been booked out by candidates and outside groups.