Wisconsin Republicans Are Heading to a ‘Midterm Convention.’ Why?

President Donald Trump arrives at a roundtable event Friday, June 5, 2026, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

This week, a few dozen Wisconsin Republicans will travel south to Dallas for their party’s midterm convention. There, they’ll join up with fellow Republicans from around the country, hear speeches from Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump, and attend events about policy priorities and the key races this November.

But this won’t be like two years ago, when Republicans from around the country came to Milwaukee to formally nominate Trump for reelection. In fact, it’s an event that hasn’t been held in this country in decades.

Instead, it’s more of a fundraiser and rally while Republicans are nervous about their chances in the November midterm elections, said James McCann, a political scientist at Purdue University.

“It’s a top-down, Trump White House-driven event that is meant to kind of pull the party together, to solidify it under President Trump, and to try to … promote it through all kinds of media sources,” he said. “President Trump is trying to reassert himself as the sort of key figure within the party.”

But some high-profile Wisconsin Republicans — similar to Republicans in other battleground states — won’t be attending.

Trump announced last September that Republicans would hold the convention. Details emerged only earlier this summer, with confirmation in late June that the event would be in Dallas.

On social media at the time, Trump described the convention as a “truly Historic Event,” and a chance to “celebrate our Nation, our achievements, and our bright future.”

Scheduled for Sept. 9-10, the convention comes as Trump faces record-low approval ratings. With Democrats eager to flip Congress, and midterm elections nearly always more favorable to the party out of power, some Republicans have expressed concern that cozying up to Trump right now only makes them more vulnerable.

That may be why early reporting suggests that some battleground Republicans won’t be attending. Plus, two days off the campaign trail can mean a lot in tight races, said McCann.

“Texas can be a long way away for people from Wisconsin,” said McCann. “A week spent in Dallas is a week not spent knocking on doors in Racine, Wisconsin, or wherever you are.”

Then there’s the matter of cost, with tickets going for $20,000 or more and add-ons, like photo ops with the president, reportedly costing tens of thousands more. For candidates, the entry fee is $25,000. The event is a party fundraiser, although it’s not entirely clear which entity will be pocketing those dollars.

The most competitive midterm elections will cost millions of dollars. Candidates may not want to pony up cash for a party in the middle of that, although some vulnerable Republicans will reportedly have their entry comped.

At the same time, Trump has a reported $400 million war chest at his disposal. The convention could therefore be a networking opportunity for candidates looking to eke out a win.

“The impulse is to respond to what is a widespread perception that this is not a favorable climate for Republican candidates to be running,” said McCann.

Some Wisconsin Republicans will be there. Some won’t.

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin GOP didn’t respond to WPR’s request for a list of delegates or lawmakers who would be in attendance. WisPolitics has confirmed that there will be 33 delegates in all. Because there is no nomination process, they are delegates in name only.

But one attendee will be Wisconsin GOP chair Brian Schimming.

“I look forward to leading the Wisconsin delegation in Dallas this September,” Schimming said in July. “Together, we put Trump over the top election night in 2024, and with the same grassroots unity and focus, we will win in 2026!”

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a Trump ally who faces a competitive reelection bid for his western Wisconsin district, also said he will attend, because “the mainstream media has not told the truth about what Republicans have done.”

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming, right, shakes hands with U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, left, as he takes the stage Saturday, May 17, 2025, during the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention in Rothschild, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor, will not be in attendance. His campaign says Tiffany has conflicting campaign events in Wisconsin. A close ally to Trump, Tiffany has attempted to put some air between himself and the president in recent weeks, breaking with him over plans to import foreign beef in the face of steep tariffs, and to rename Lake Ontario.

Tiffany has also repeatedly declined to say whether he wants Trump to visit Wisconsin and campaign with him directly, although at a dinner at the White House Wednesday, Trump shouted out Tiffany by name and promised to support him, Van Orden, and U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil “100 percent all the way to November.”

An unusual event for a turbulent election year

While nominating conventions date back to the 19th century, a midterm convention is a much rarer event. This one will be the Republican Party’s first.

Democrats held a handful in the 1970s and 1980s, but the party opted to stop in 1986. That year, the party’s chair called these “mini-conventions” a waste of time and money, and “places for mischief.”

Elaine Kamarck was at one of those Democratic events in 1978. Kamarck was a young staffer with the Democratic National Convention. Now a political analyst the Brookings Institute, she described an event that ended up going poorly for then-President Jimmy Carter.

Notably, the 1978 event took place immediately after the midterm elections — not beforehand. But that timing gave then Sen. Ted Kennedy the chance to give a speech that “wowed everybody,” Kamarck said — and angered the White House. The speech was credited with helping to jumpstart Kennedy’s insurgent primary against Carter in 1980.

There were some political similarities then and now. Gas prices were high, amid a national shortage, conflicts with Middle Eastern nations and upheaval in Iran. And Carter, like Trump, had low approval ratings.

“And guess what? A lot of elected Democrats decided not to come to … his convention,” Kamarck said. “When a president is in trouble, as this one is, the elected officials in the party don’t want to be seen with him.”

Wisconsin Republicans are heading to a midterm convention. What is that? was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.