The Republican Party launched a two-day midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday — the first gathering of its kind in the party’s history — with President Donald Trump scheduled to deliver keynote remarks and return Thursday for closing comments, according to postregister.com.

Convention Opens With Party Optimism

Joe Gruters brought down an oversized gavel to open the proceedings, which began with the national anthem, “America the Beautiful,” and a formal presentation of flags by an honor guard. Red American flag signs were distributed throughout the arena, where Republican delegates sat on the center floor near state designation signs while other attendees filled the sides.

“The Republican Party is America’s party,” Gruters declared as the convention got underway.

The event is being described as part political rally and part fundraiser, with the stated goal of showcasing the Trump administration’s record through its first two years. Vice President JD Vance and several Cabinet members are also on the speaking schedule for the two-night program.

Cabinet Members Take the Stage

HUD Secretary Turner, a former NFL player with a nine-season career and a native of the Dallas area, was the first Cabinet member to address the convention. Turner credited Trump with eliminating DEI programs and said housing assistance should function as what he called a “trampoline and not a hammock.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the situation along the southern border, describing Mexico as presenting an “even graver challenge” than other countries in the region. Rubio pointed to cartel influence inside Mexico and said the ideal path forward would involve a joint U.S.-Mexico response, while warning that the threat would eventually require direct confrontation.

Iran War Looms Over Midterm Landscape

Trump, speaking ahead of his formal keynote, attributed a surge in oil prices to the ongoing Iran war, now in its seventh month, and suggested prices were unlikely to fall before the midterm elections. The conflict is shaping up as a significant backdrop to the convention’s messaging.

An AP-NORC poll conducted in July found that roughly two-thirds of American adults consider the Iran war not worthwhile — a figure that could complicate Republican efforts to frame the administration’s foreign policy record as a political asset.

Voter Stories and Candidate Positioning

Convention organizers featured Ally Raskin, a Dallas mother who left the Democratic Party and has since become a Republican precinct leader. Raskin told the convention that her break with the party came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when her unvaccinated daughter was required to remain out of school longer than vaccinated classmates following a virus exposure. “That experience changed me,” Raskin told the Post Register, as quoted by postregister.com. “It became impossible for me to ignore how deeply political decisions can affect our basic freedoms.” She has since pushed her county to hand count ballots.

The convention also spotlighted Republican congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz, who is running in Texas’ 35th District. De La Cruz praised Trump for securing the border in what he called “record time.” His campaign recently updated his website from “TRUMP CONSERVATIVE” to “PROVEN CONSERVATIVE,” though his team rejected any suggestion the change reflected an effort to create distance from the president — even as a small number of Republican candidates around the country have quietly begun doing exactly that ahead of the November elections.

Trump is set to return to the convention stage Thursday alongside Vance for the closing session.