Topline
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the first ever midterm Republican convention will be held in September, clashing with a pair of NFL matchups that will kick off the 2026 season and potentially compete for viewership.
Key Facts
The national convention will be held on Sept. 9 and 10 in Dallas.
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will face each other in the NFL kickoff game on Sept. 9, with the primetime matchup being broadcast by NBC, while the Sept. 10 game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will take place in Melbourne, Australia, and stream on Netflix.
The NFL kickoff game in 2008 was rescheduled for the Republican National Convention, and the 2012 kickoff was rescheduled for the Democratic National Convention, though it is not immediately clear if the same will happen to this year’s season opener.
Trump said the midterm convention would be used “to show the great things we have done since the Presidential Election of 2024.”
Will The Democrats Also Hold A Midterm Convention?
Despite considering a midterm convention of their own, Democrats will not hold one, according to multiple outlets, with Politico noting the national party is facing a fundraising crunch.
Key Background
Republicans will be defending slim majorities in both chambers of Congress come November. Several polls are giving Democrats the edge, according to The New York Times, as Trump’s approval rating has remained stagnant while his administration seeks to finalize a peace deal with Iran. The latest Associated Press-NORC poll logged a 37% approval rating for Trump, unchanged from May, while his 34% approval rating of his handling of the Iran war also remained flat. The Times has identified 10 competitive Senate races for the midterms, with three of them being toss-ups. It also found 38 competitive races for the House, including 18 toss-ups. In order to clinch the House majority, Democrats will need to win 13 of 18 House toss-up races as long as they also win Democratic-leaning seats.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
How a midterm convention will impact polling. Parties typically receive a bump shortly after holding a convention in presidential election years, though it is unclear whether the same pattern will apply to a midterm event. Presidential election year Republican and Democratic conventions are also high-profile television events, drawing tens of millions of viewers as major networks broadcast key speeches. It remains unclear how much coverage or interest the midterm convention will draw.
Further Reading
Tracking Competitive Races in the House and Senate (NYT)
Trump Approval Rating Holds Steady At 37% Amid Iran Deal (Forbes)
