Trump Campaigns With GOP Peers As Midterms Approach

DALLAS, President Donald Trump is receiving far warmer applause from his Republican peers this cycle than Joe Biden got from Democrats just two years ago. Old political rules say the party holding power usually loses ground in Congress during midterms, especially when voters dislike their leader's agenda more than they like it. Yet the GOP is counting on the opposite happening. The first-ever Republican midterm convention featured back-to-back speeches from the commander-in-chief alongside remarks from Cabinet members, allies, and lawmakers.

"I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," Trump said Wednesday to a cheering crowd. Republican incumbents and candidates fighting for seats in battleground districts also took the stage. They all sounded confident even as Trump's approval ratings stay low.

"We ran together in 2024 on a ticket with President Trump, [Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa.] and myself, voters elected all of us to deliver real change and results, and we've actually been able to do that with securing the border and delivering historic tax relief," Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital while standing near the convention center.

"Now what we're seeing is in a midterm, we are actually going to defy the historic trends. Why is that? Because the Democrats are so far left they are totally out of touch."

Republicans hope warnings about a socialist insurgency will help them hold their majorities in both chambers this year. They also highlight Trump's tax cuts from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act as proof of what they can deliver.

Mackenzie is one of the top targets Democrats are eyeing for November, along with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who faces voters in the suburbs outside New York City. "He's the President of the United States, and whether it was Joe Biden or Donald Trump, I've always shown up," Lawler told Fox News Digital. "You have to be able to engage with the president, and, you know, frankly, this is where I think the Democrats have made a very big mistake. They could get a lot more in terms of what it is that they want if they would actually engage constructively."

Lawler, Mackenzie, and Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., are among three vulnerable incumbents who spoke at the convention last week. Lawler introduced two residents from his district whose daughter died after an illegal immigrant killed her in Chicago. That story served as a grim symbol of what Republicans say could happen again if Democrats win control.

Trump has campaigned in each of their districts over recent months as he travels the country to try and keep Congress under Republican control for the rest of his final term. But it was not just these at-risk incumbents who appeared in Dallas with Trump. The two-day event also brought candidates from across the nation, including those running in tight races.

"When people say that folks are running away from President Trump, I'll tell you I'm certainly not doing that. And let me tell you why: because he has made promises to South Texas, and he has kept them, especially when we look at border security," candidate Eric Flores told Fox News Digital.

"My opponent, who said, you know, that the sleepy Joe Biden administration and the no-show border czar, Kamala Harris, were on the right track. Let me tell you firsthand, I was on Operation Guardian support, was a federal prosecutor on the border. It was a humanitarian crisis.

President Trump claimed his border was secured on day one. Flores is stepping into a South Texas district currently held by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas. Whether this plan works remains to be seen, yet Democrats are already using it as leverage. They hope that linking with Trump will sink GOP candidates just like it did in 2018.

TRUMP'S APPROVAL RATING PLUMMETS TO NEW LOW AHEAD OF CRITICAL MIDTERMS: 'MORE WORK TO DO'. Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale issued a sharp statement after Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, and Scott Perry made their priorities clear. They care more about Donald Trump's cost-raising agenda than what is 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," DePasquale said. "And Pennsylvanians are ready to send them packing this November."

Fox News Digital did not spot Rep. Scott Perry at the convention. He is a Republican from Pennsylvania expected to run a close race. Reporters reached out to his campaign for comment, but he was absent.