In case you missed it, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Joe Gruters sat down with Florida Politics to highlight how the Republican Convention will boost Republicans’ chances of defying history.
Joe Gruters says Midterm convention offers Republicans a chance to beat history
Florida Politics
September 8, 2026
The 2026 Republican National Convention, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, will gather party leaders in Dallas. Kicking off 55 days before the Nov. 3 General Election, [Chairman] Gruters hopes it will rev up the base and present a sharp contrast between President Donald Trump’s agenda and that of 'extreme leftism' among Democrats.
“It’s going to give us the chance to tell the President’s mission, all the great accomplishments that we’ve had over the first two years, and everything we want to do, Gruters said, "and we want to let people know that the American dream is alive and well, and that this President and this administration is fighting for them.”
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“Only four times in the last 150 years, the incumbent party’s been able to win," he said. "You can’t continue to do things the same and expect different outcomes.”
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The event in Dallas will bring some key Florida political figures off the trail and to the Lone Star State. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for Governor, will be among the more than 100 speakers at the event, as will U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Pinellas Republican defending a battleground seat.
“Byron Donalds obviously is one of the rising stars of the Republican Party,” Gruters said. “You know, I went into the Legislature with Byron. I’ve known him for 20 years. He is probably one of the best communicators in the country. I think that to be able to give him a prime time spot and put him front and center, and I think it’s a win for the entire country. People can rally behind him, and I think that he will really shine in this type of environment.”
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“[Anna Paulina Luna's] been a champion of the President for a long time, and she’s laser focused on a couple of different issues,” Gruters said. “Some of these issues are very important to the electorate. I think that the American people want to know what’s happening, what we’re trying to do, and I think she’s a great messenger as well.”
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Gruters, though, said unity will carry Republicans to a successful Midterms, where base turnout will determine key contests. When asked if candidates in purple districts should tie themselves to Trump, Gruters didn’t hesitate in answering, “Yes.”
“This President has delivered low propensity voters three times. He’s proven that he could do it. He is going to put himself on the ballot by doing the rallies and everything else, starting right here at this convention,” Gruters said.
“So yes, I think it’s a winning strategy to get behind the overall agenda and effort, because once it becomes clear of what for the American people want and what the D.C. elitists have done for the last five decades in selling the American worker down the river, this President has stepped up time and time again with the working family tax cuts, with the TrumpRX accounts, with Trump Accounts themselves. We can do better. We are doing better, and the President’s working round the clock to make sure that we can bring back affordability and other things that Joe Biden and his administration destroyed.”
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Gruters also noted that even a day ahead of the convention, side events had already kicked off in Dallas, offering candidates and other political figures in the city the chance to network, collaborate and raise financial support.
“These conventions are always a massive deal,” he said.
And the coverage that comes will showcase Republican messaging, including a chance to define Democrats.
“The contrast is the Democrats want to pull us closer and closer to Havana and Moscow and these socialist countries, and are going to make everything more expensive,” Gruters said.
“They want to open up the borders. They want to get rid of ICE and enforcement, including for rapists and murderers who came over in the Biden administration. And everything they do will put more regulations and more expense overall on the American people.”
He feels confident the event will benefit Republicans at all levels. But it’s also just one step on a road to victory.
“We will be united as a party. We will lead this convention, and then it’s a race to Nov. 3,” he said. “We’re not going to stop. We’re going to work hard, and we will defy history as a team that’s united with the overall purpose of making sure we’re going to save the country and the world.”
