Washington, DC – Night two of the first-of-its-kind Republican midterm convention has wrapped up, with the party officially hitching its wagon to US President Donald Trump as it faces uphill legislative elections in November.
On the first night, speaker after speaker portrayed an existential fight against an increasingly “radical” Democratic Party. In his keynote address, Trump urged voters on Wednesday to “pretend” he is on the ballot, even as entrenched concerns over affordability, fuelled by the US-Israel war on Iran, have seen the president’s approval ratings dive.
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Going a step further, Trump also pledged to give US citizens a “$5,000 dividend” if Republicans hold onto both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the elections, a promise that met with consternation from both his supporters and critics.
Night two saw more efforts to rally the Republican base. Here were the key takeaways.
Protesters gather and Democrats rally
The Democratic National Committee opted not to hold its own national convention, an event typically held only during presidential election cycles.
Instead, the liberal response was largely contained to a small protest held near the American Airlines Center, where the Republican convention was taking place, with Democrats holding a rally at Dallas City Hall in the evening.
“It’s to bring national attention to this and hopefully put some pressure on politicians that aren’t so firmly rooted in MAGA,” said Jon Pattison, 66, from Frisco, Texas, a retiree and activist with the Indivisible group, which organised the protest near the American Airlines Center.
The convention “is going to have the opposite effect from what Trump wants. Like rats from a sinking ship”, he said.
“We’re gonna flip Texas, and Trump is worried about it,” he added.
Kathryn Suarez, 51, a project manager from Dallas, said Republicans were “threatened by James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa”, referring to the Democratic Senate candidate Talarico, who has been pulling away from Republican candidate Ken Paxton, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hinojosa.
“It’s no secret that Texas is generally a red state, so [the convention] may work in [Trump’s] favour,” she said. “But that’s why we’re here; to try to stand up and make sure that people know that that’s not the only option.”
But despite Trump’s overall low approval rating, Texas-based Democratic strategist Rania Batrice warned that the Democratic leadership has still failed to articulate a clear message to meet the moment in the final stretch of the election.
“There are individuals running for office who are capturing that moment, who are showing up in that moment,” she told Al Jazeera. “I think James Talarico is one of them. Abdul El-Sayed is obviously one of them.”
“They’re doing what our leadership is not doing,” Batrice said.
A Trump heir apparent?
Vice President JD Vance delivered Thursday’s keynote speech after being bumped from Wednesday night by Trump.
Focusing largely on traditional “family values” issues and praising Trump’s immigration policies, Vance appealed for Republican unity, even amid disagreements.
He pointed to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s opposition to foreign wars. Vance has been widely seen as one of the most critical voices of the US-Israel war on Iran in the Trump administration.
“I’m not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue,” he said. “I’m not asking anybody to agree on every single policy of the administration.”
“What I am asking you to do is to recognise the contrast with the radicals and recognise the achievements of the last 18 months. We have done a lot, my friends, and we can do a lot more if we fight together,” he said.
Vance has long led polls of potential Trump successors, and the high-profile speech is likely to further solidify his role as the heir apparent.
While many who spoke to Al Jazeera saw Vance as Trump’s most likely successor in 2028, several also saw Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the man for the job.
“I like Rubio,” said Brendan House, a 42-year-old resident of Shreveport, Louisiana.
“He’s a jack of all trades,” he said, referring to Rubio’s multiple roles beyond top diplomat, including head of the largely defunct USAID agency and acting archivist at the National Archives.
“I feel like Trump has been grooming him for the job,” he said.
Some voters were eyeing champions from farther afield.
Ronnda Law, a 55-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, hoped conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson would step into the race.
“He’s a Christian. He’s anti-sending all of our money and our men to die for Israel, which is something that’s happened forever,” she said.
Texas lawmakers say banning ‘Sharia law’ a Republican priority
Two Texas officials used their speeches on Thursday to decry “Sharia law“, highlighting the issue as a Republican priority.
“Sharia law has no place in America,” Senator Ted Cruz said. “Sharia law is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution, and we need to stand together and stop it now.”
His statement comes as Republicans in Congress have increasingly seized on the concept, launching a so-called “Sharia-free America caucus”.
Critics have said lawmakers have misrepresented the Islamic concept of Sharia, which roughly translates to “the trodden path to water”. Lawmakers have made no meaningful effort to codify interpretations of Islamic principles into US law. Advocates have accused lawmakers of fabricating an issue to stigmatise Islam.
In Texas, the Republican-controlled government has taken several actions decried by advocates as Islamophobic, including a recent effort to ban prayer ablution areas at airports.
Governor Greg Abbott, who also spoke on Thursday, has also sought to label the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Texas as a foreign “terrorist” organisation.
“We are not waiting on Washington, DC,” he said during his speech. “We will fully ban Sharia law in Texas.”
Michigan’s El-Sayed gets brunt of attacks
While Texas Democratic Senate candidate Talarico received outsized attention on Wednesday, Thursday saw a heavier focus on Michigan progressive Abdul El-Sayed.
Republican candidate Mike Rogers criticised El-Sayed over campaign appearances he made with left-wing streaming commentator Hasan Piker.
“Abdul El-Sayed has chosen Hasan as his running mate,” Rogers said. “Together, they attack America. They excuse extremism. They treat our country like it’s the villain.”
So far, El-Sayed has refused to repudiate comments from Piker, who has accused critics of intentionally taking statements out of context.
On Wednesday, Republican Congressman Tom Emmer, in a falsehood-laden diatribe, suggested that the US-born El Sayed should leave the country.
“If you don’t love America, get the hell out,” Emmer said.
El-Sayed, for his part, released a new attack advertisement against Rogers on Thursday.
Trump further solidifies outsized role in midterms
If one message was clear during the two-day convention, it was that Trump will remain a defining force in the final stretch of the midterm election.
On Wednesday, he pledged to rally for every tight Senate and House race in the coming weeks, a potentially disconcerting notion for candidates wary of associating with the increasingly unpopular president.
On Thursday, Trump reiterated that Republicans needed to vote in the midterm elections as if he were on the ballot. He again promised every American adult a $5,000 payment if Republicans keep control of Congress, without providing details.
He acknowledged relying on the military “a little more than I thought,” but insisted Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon and again referred to the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, congressional candidate Gerald Molloy, who is running to unseat progressive Becca Balint in deep-blue Vermont, said he understood why some candidates in liberal-leaning states might be wary of Trump’s embrace.
“I tell Vermonters, it’s not about the White House. It’s about delivering results from DC,” he said.
Still, he said he believed that the wider framing of the race, one of “common sense” Republicans against increasingly “radical” Democrats, would prove potent with voters.
“What I do think was kind of the theme of the whole [convention] was, you’ve got the GOP and here’s your other choice: socialism, DSA,” he said, referring to the Democratic Socialists of America, who are set to grow their presence in Congress this election cycle.
“I think we kind of drove home why the GOP is the right choice, and the choice right now,” he said.
