Texas Convention Fires Up GOP for Midterms Amid Tributes and Challenges

DALLAS—The Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention often looked and sounded like a pep rally, Texas-style. Many attendees donned cowboy hats typical of the Lone Star State, and the two-day convention ended Sept. 10 with a festive balloon drop from the top of the American Airlines Center after tenor Christopher Macchio sang “America the Beautiful.”

And, at times, President Donald Trump’s remarks made people like Gary Piscitelli of Northlake, Texas, rock back-and-forth in their seats with laughter. The president poked fun at politicians from both major political parties.

“I just, I love listening to him speak. He just tells it how it is,” Piscitelli told The Epoch Times.

But people in patriotic garb grew grim-faced, and some wept when Trump and others marked the one-year anniversary of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, and paid tribute ahead of the 25-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The mood also turned serious when attendees and program speakers discussed crucial issues the GOP is tackling. Examples include pushing for voter ID laws, combating “woke” indoctrination of children, keeping America’s borders secure, and tamping down the threat of socialism and political violence.

Trump convened the gathering to motivate voters to turn out for the Nov. 3 election and cast ballots for Republicans who will continue to advance his agenda on those issues and many others. While Democrats held a few past midterm conventions decades ago, the tactic is new for Republicans.

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The convention venue, which can hold about 20,000 people, was mostly full but no official attendance estimate was available. Trump characterized the convention as “far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible,” in a Sept. 10 Truth Social post.

“I thought the vibe was refreshing and spirited,” Edward Lapinski of Cook County, Illinois, told The Epoch Times. “I’m not sure we will ever see another president speak as candidly and unfiltered. He brought an appropriate balance of humor while maintaining the importance of turning out to vote come November.”

Molly Sprenger of San Antonio told the Epoch Times that attending was a terrific experience.

She felt a kinship with fellow convention-goers who, like her, see a need to support Trump’s efforts to “save America.” She smiled broadly when she said the convention atmosphere was “electric.”

But tears welled up in her eyes when she said: “I’m fighting for my kids … because this is insane, what I’m seeing, this ‘woke’ ideology in the schools and the LGBTQ movement that is like everywhere.”

“I’m a mother bear, and I want my kids—and generations to come—to have a good future.”

Sprenger, who attended with her father, said she wants to hand down traditional American and family values to her children, just as her parents did for her.

Trump and his agenda align with those values, she said.

However, two California women, Judy Simaroth and Brita Lindstrom, told The Epoch Times they fear that voter apathy could pose a big hurdle for the president.

Without voter ID laws and other steps to ensure that only legitimate voters cast ballots, people feel it’s futile to bother to vote, Simaroth said.

“I say, ‘Well, that’s not true … If you don’t vote, then you’re voting Democrat,’” she said.

Voter turnout nationwide tends to be lower in non-presidential election years.

And in recent election cycles, Republican candidates have performed better when Trump’s name appeared on the ballot—in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

He told the Dallas crowd on Sept. 9: “You’ve got to get out and vote, and you’re going to pretend I’m on the ballot. Because in a way, I’m on the ballot.”

Before Trump made that comment, Lindstrom said: “Republicans would win so many elections, and we could flip seats … if we even got 10 percent more out to vote. We have to vote.”

She is focused on “educating fellow Republicans and fellow groups to go door-to-door” and encourage people to go vote.

“That’s all that matters right now. Nothing else,” Lindstrom said.

Throughout the convention, speakers highlighted Trump’s accomplishments since he returned to the White House in 2025, including cutting taxes, deporting criminal illegal aliens, and reducing crime.

Those are common-sense policies that are good for everyone, said Sprenger’s father, Monte Mutschler, 81, also of San Antonio.

Thus, “I believe that the midterms will be a blowout for the Republican Party,” he told The Epoch Times, adding, “We are fired up, and we’re excited about the future of this country.”

Mutschler and Sprenger said one statement from Trump’s Sept. 9 speech had an especially strong impact on them: “On election night, we’re going to prove that America does not belong to those who hate it. America belongs to those who love it,” the president said.

Upon hearing that statement, father and daughter looked at each other. Their eyes locked and they nodded in agreement.

Sprenger said she admires the president, who has persevered despite repeated assassination attempts against him, including suffering a gunshot wound to the ear at a Pennsylvania rally ahead of the 2024 election.

“That is a true patriot that is willing to put his life on the line for us and for our country … And that is why I will be a Trump supporter for my whole life,” Sprenger said.

Jordan Smith, 16, of Newport Beach, California, sees the midterm convention as a good way to help keep Republican voters engaged.

“The era of the silent majority is over. The majority must be vocal and active,” he told The Epoch Times. “If the silent majority keeps sitting back and only voting at the ballot box … we will see no actual change.”

His friend, another 16-year-old from Newport Beach, Ali Talebloo, said it’s important for young people to get involved. “We are creating the path for America, essentially,” he said.