President Trump on Thursday reportedly proposed an idea that could reshape the political landscape of the midterm cycle: a national Republican convention held just before the 2026 elections.
“The Republican Party is doing really well. Millions of people have joined us in our quest to MAKE AMERICA, GREAT AGAIN. We won every aspect of the Presidential Election and, based on the great success we are having, are poised to WIN BIG IN THE MIDTERMS,” Trump declared in a post on Truth Social. He touted the GOP’s momentum, crediting strong fundraising and what he described as “incredible” results from his administration’s efforts to undo the policies of the Biden years.
“In that light, I am thinking of recommending a National Convention to the Republican Party, just prior to the Midterms. It has never been done before. STAY TUNED!!!” Trump wrote.
The bold proposal quickly drew contrasts with Democrats, who, according to Axios, are considering their own convention-like gathering ahead of the midterms.
A Democratic National Committee spokesperson confirmed the report, saying the party was weighing a large event “to showcase our tremendous candidates running up and down the ballot and harness the amazing grassroots energy we’re already seeing.”
But the DNC also signaled its strategy would once again center on Trump. “Americans everywhere are fired up and ready to fight back against Trump’s reckless policies — including his budget betrayal that cuts health care and food assistance for millions of people,” the spokesperson said in a sharply worded statement.
For Democrats, the idea is not new. The party used to hold conventions in or around midterm cycles but stopped in the mid-1980s.
The revival of the practice — decades after it was abandoned — highlights the pressure Democrats feel as Trump continues to dominate the national conversation.
The parallel discussions between the two parties reflect the outsized importance of the 2026 midterms.
At stake is whether Trump will face a Democratic-controlled House determined to check his agenda in the final two years of his second term, or if Republicans will cement a governing majority to drive forward his policies.
Trump and Republican leaders have already raised the stakes with an aggressive redistricting push. Texas, the nation’s largest Republican stronghold, has passed a new congressional map projected to add five GOP seats. Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign it into law soon.
Democrats, meanwhile, are maneuvering to blunt the move. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and party allies are preparing a competing House map for voters this November — an effort widely seen as a countermove to Texas’s gains.
Still, Trump’s proposal for a Republican midterm convention underscores the contrast in approach between the two parties.
While Democrats are scrambling to revive a long-abandoned strategy, Trump is putting forward a new, unprecedented idea aimed at energizing his base and framing the midterms as another test of his populist movement.
With both parties preparing for an extraordinary cycle, one thing is clear: Trump remains the central figure around whom 2026 will turn.
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