Pennsylvania looms large at GOP’s ‘Trump-a-palooza’ midterm convention

Republicans held a two-day convention in Dallas to energize Republican voters ahead of this year’s midterm elections – called “Trump-a-palooza” by some – that featured appearances from President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson and a host of GOP candidates seeking reelection in November. 

Trump headlined both nights of the convention, where he framed the midterms as “one of the most important elections in our country’s history” and assailed the Democratic Party. “Your vote will decide whether our country stumbles at the starting gate of the next 250 years, or surges forward and never, ever looks back,” he said. 

Trump said if Republicans keep control of Congress, they will make his signature tax cuts permanent and advance a new health care plan. He also promised a $5,000 dividend for all U.S. adults if the GOP wins the midterms, but didn’t say how he would finance the payments. “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate … I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said, noting that dividend recipients would be required to spend the money in the U.S.

While Trump took center stage at the midterm convention, Pennsylvania’s significance loomed over the historic midterm gathering. U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick underscored the stakes of this year’s midterm elections and touted recent investments in the commonwealth totaling more than $100 billion. U.S. Reps. Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan, both facing competitive challenges in their respective districts, also spoke at the convention, while Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman made a surprise appearance by video to introduce McCormick. 

John Fetterman makes an appearance at the GOP convention

Just days after a scathing Wall Street Journal report portrayed him as having little interest in his day-to-day duties as a U.S. senator – a piece that enraged members of his own party – U.S. Sen. John Fetterman appeared at the Dallas GOP convention via video to introduce his Republican colleague and friend, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick. 

Fetterman, a Democrat, has increasingly distanced himself from his own party since being elected in 2028. He’s dined with President Donald Trump, become one of the Senate’s most vocal defenders of Israel, and has not shied away from critiquing the leftward drift of the Democratic Party. 

“I’m a common-sense Democrat,” Fetterman said in the video played at the convention. “I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life. Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done, and he’s going to fight for Pennsylvania.”

McCormick touts Pennsylvania’s economy while underscoring stakes of the midterms

In a 10-minute speech on the first day of the convention, McCormick highlighted the pivotal role Pennsylvania has played throughout the nation’s history, while making the case that the commonwealth will be critical to the country’s future.

“Today we are building America’s future again,” McCormick said. “Westinghouse is launching a new era of nuclear power. Drug manufacturing is booming in the Lehigh Valley. Hanwha is investing $5 billion in the Philadelphia shipyard, and President Trump and I have announced over $100 billion in energy, AI and defense, bringing tens of thousands of great jobs to Pennsylvania.”

McCormick, who was joined onstage by steel and manufacturing workers, praised Trump and members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation for securing a deal to keep U.S. Steel’s headquarters in Pittsburgh. 

The Republican senator also raised concerns about recent wins by self-professed Democratic Socialist candidates across the United States, noting that his grandfather was a Democrat who campaigned for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and “wouldn’t recognize his party today.”

“Democrats told us to excuse Nazi tattoos. Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee campaigns with a man who said America, and I quote, ‘deserved 9/11.’ This radical movement excuses lawlessness. It vilifies the police. It disparages our military. It attacks our business. It spews antisemitism, and it celebrates those who despise America,” McCormick said. 

“My friends, the choice is clear,” he added. “Will we dream heroic dreams and build a better future, or will we surrender to socialism, defeatism, anti-Americanism? I refuse to surrender. President Trump refuses to surrender. This November, there can be no surrender.”

Bresnahan and Mackenzie praise Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill

Facing competitive races this November, U.S. Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie were both speakers at the GOP’s midterm convention. 

Speaking on the convention’s first day, Bresnahan, who is running against Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti in November, focused on the impact that Trump’s signature tax bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will have on Pennsylvania workers’ bottom lines. He said the law’s deduction for overtime pay will have positive ripple effects throughout Pennsylvania communities. “That extra money reaches places like the diner down the street, the local grocery store and the family buying their first home. That’s how you build communities where people can stay, raise a family and build a life,” he said. Bresnahan also touted his support for career and technical education and Northeastern Pennsylvania’s manufacturing sector. 

Mackenzie, who is facing a challenge from Bob Brooks, a firefighters union president, spoke on the second day of the convention. He highlighted his voting record in Congress and celebrated Trump’s signature tax bill. “We delivered tax relief for every American by locking in lower rates and expanding the standard deduction. We added no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security,” Mackenzie said. “We fought for working families, expanding the child tax credit, making tax credits permanent for things like paid family leave and child care, and creating Trump accounts.” Mackenzie also took a shot at Brooks, calling him a “far-left nutjob” supported by establishment Democrats. 

Brooks, meanwhile, labeled Mackenzie a “lapdog” ahead of the event, which he referred to as a “lapdog convention.”

Democrats accuse GOP lawmakers of prioritizing Trump over Pennsylvania voters

Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale criticized Pennsylvania Republicans who traveled to Texas for the convention, accusing them of being more loyal to Trump than to Pennsylvania voters' needs. 

DePasquale said in a statement that Mackenzie, Bresnahan and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry “care more about Donald Trump’s cost-raising agenda than what’s best for the people of Pennsylvania … After jetting all the way to Texas to champion an agenda of higher gas prices, cost-raising tariffs, and healthcare cuts, Mackenzie, Bresnahan, Perry, and the entire PA GOP have proven that they’ll put Trump ahead of our Commonwealth every single time – and Pennsylvanians are ready to send them packing this November,” DePasquale said.