In a break with decades of political tradition, the Republican Party gathered in Dallas this week for the first-ever midterm convention in U.S. history, an event crafted almost entirely around a sitting President with record-low approval ratings: Donald Trump. The stated goal of the two-day gathering was simple: reverse the party’s sliding midterm fortunes and energize conservative voters ahead of the critical November congressional elections. But for many attendees and party insiders leaving the convention, anxiety about the GOP’s November prospects and its long-term identity after Trump leaves the Oval Office has only deepened.
Vice President JD Vance, who is widely tipped by party observers as a leading contender to claim the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, offered attendees a rare preview of what the post-Trump future could hold during his prime-time keynote address on the convention’s second night. Staying focused on the immediate task at hand, Vance told the packed crowd at downtown Dallas’ American Airlines Center, “We’ve got to take care of business this November. Then we’ll worry about what comes next.” At one point, his speech was interrupted by spontaneous chants of “48” — a reference to the fact that the next Republican president will be the 48th person to hold the office. Vance allowed the crowd’s chant to continue for a few moments before moving on with his prepared remarks, neither embracing nor rejecting the implicit suggestion that he would be that successor.
From the opening gavel to the closing balloon drop, the convention laid bare deep internal divisions within the party over the wisdom of centering a midterm campaign entirely on a president whose approval ratings hover near historic lows, at a moment when many American voters are frustrated over persistent economic instability and the ongoing war with Iran. Supporters of the unconventional event argue it offered a unique opportunity to unify the base and test campaign messaging before a large, receptive audience. “I think it will make a difference. If anything it allows us to test the [campaign] message in front of a large audience,” Jeff Ryer, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, told reporters in an on-site interview.
Critics within the party, however, say Trump’s rambling, nearly two-hour opening address on Wednesday did little to win over undecided voters who will decide control of Congress. One anonymous Republican operative offered a blunt assessment of Trump’s performance, noting that the president’s core appeal to voters — to treat the midterm election as if he himself were on the ballot — was always going to fall flat. “Do I wish Trump gave a shorter speech? Sure, but that’s not who he is,” the operative said. “I don’t think saying ‘pretend I’m on the ballot’ will work. He’s not.”
Current polling gives Democrats a strong shot at retaking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remains a toss-up that is seen as a slightly longer shot for Democrats. For all the focus on November, the convention served as an unavoidable reminder that the Trump era is rapidly approaching its final chapter, and speculation about the party’s next chapter was impossible to avoid. The president’s presence dominated every part of the proceedings: all attending House and Senate candidates opened their speeches with effusive praise for Trump, and thousands of supporters filled the arena in the signature red “Make America Great Again” hats that have become the symbol of his political movement. Even with its compressed two-day schedule, the convention mirrored the full-scale pageantry of the four-day presidential nominating conventions held every four years, complete with branded signs, a closing balloon drop and live musical performances.
Georgia-based party activist Vikki Consiglio framed the unorthodox gathering as proof of Trump’s ability to upend outdated political norms and command national attention. She pointed to one of Trump’s biggest speech announcements — a pledge to send $5,000 direct payments to every U.S. adult if Republicans keep control of Congress — as evidence of his forward-thinking agenda. “He’s a visionary. This whole convention is nothing but a vision,” Consiglio said.
Yet even as attendees cheered Trump’s policy proposals, many openly acknowledged they were already focused on the 2028 presidential contest. Aiden Buzzetti, 26-year-old president of the pro-Trump group The Bull Moose Project, said Trump had already reshaped the ideological foundation of the Republican Party in lasting ways, but he made clear he was eager to see a new generation of conservative leaders take the reins. “I’m very concerned about the next 10, 15, 20 years. I’m absolutely thinking about the future of the party,” Buzzetti said.
In on-the-record interviews with reporters, most convention attendees named two figures as the leading potential contenders to succeed Trump: Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “Trump needs to pass the torch. We need to look forward,” said Sandy Money, an Arizona Republican who attended the event. “I love Vance. But Rubio is my choice if he runs in 2028.” Trump himself has openly discussed the potential 2028 bids of both men, though both Vance and Rubio have repeatedly pushed back on speculation about their presidential plans. Rubio was not in attendance at the Dallas convention, as he was conducting official diplomatic business in Ecuador as part of his role as Secretary of State.
In his keynote, Vance leaned into the administration’s policy record, arguing that the Trump White House had delivered major wins for Americans, including improved economic growth, strengthened border security and lower prescription drug costs. He drew a sharp contrast with the opposition, arguing that the Democratic Party had shifted dramatically to the far left and become what he called the “party of crazy”, before closing with a direct appeal to voters who had not yet decided how they would vote in November: he told the crowd his party was actively working to win over “the people who are still making up their minds”.
Never one to cede the spotlight, Trump returned to the stage after Vance’s address to deliver the convention’s closing remarks, shifting the conversation back to the urgent, immediate stakes of the upcoming election. For Trump, questions of succession were secondary to turning out the conservative base in November. “You know what happens if you don’t vote?” he asked the crowd. “You go to hell.”