What is the GOP convention happening this week?

Every presidential election year, political parties hold conventions. You know the deal. Supporters, party bigwigs, they all meet to pick their candidate and really talk about their platform for the upcoming campaign. This year, though, Republicans are holding what they're calling a midterm convention. Will it work? It's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Miles Parks. I cover voting. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics. And I'm Mara Liason, senior national political correspondent. Tam, let's just start with this convention. What is it? Where is it? And most importantly, why is it? So it is in Dallas, Texas, and it will be on Wednesday and Thursday nights. And the thing that you described that happens every four years, that is not this. There is no official party business. This is really just a television program, an infomercial. Okay. There is a Trump rally over two nights. There are a number of speakers that have been announced. President Trump is the headliner both nights. One interesting side note is that the NFL season also starts Wednesday and Thursday. So there will be some competition for eyeballs, and it's not clear how much coverage this infomercial is going to get. But then it can be sliced and diced and put out over the Internet. And, you know, in this clicks economy, that is. It is worth a lot. Okay. So it seems like. So President Trump is going to be front and center on this thing. But can you talk more broadly about the messaging outside of Trump in terms of the things that we think Republicans are going to focus on in this convention? Well, you can't get outside of Trump. He is the center of the Republican political universe. So what they are going to be talking about is President Trump's accomplishments. That's the way they talk about it. The focus in terms of issues is lowering costs and raising incomes. It's securing the border and protecting American values. So these are broad topics that we're expecting them to address. There will be members of Congress speaking. There will be the president, the vice president, and lots of those, like, regular people affected by the president's policies who you see at every sort of convention. That will be there, too. I think one thing that is notable is that. Not all vulnerable Republicans will be there. There are something like 45 competitive races between the House and the Senate. Fewer than half of the people running in those competitive races will be speaking at this convention up on stage. I mean, Mara, what do you make of the political strategy here, doing an entire midterm convention centered on a president who is historically unpopular at a time when that kind of complicates the lives of people? in Texas. However, he has plenty of time and plenty of money. This is probably the most significant way that he can help Republicans. All right. Let's take a quick break and let's talk about how Democrats are pointing a message as the midterms get closer right after this. And we're back. So, Tam, I want to talk about Democrats and their strategy this midterm year now. Labor Day, traditionally seen as the time when campaign season really ramps up. How would you describe how Democrats are thinking about messaging their platform this year? So talking to Democratic campaign officials, it is very clear that their message is the economy and the cost of living. Things are too expensive. One strategist I talked to said the number one, two and three issue for voters is affordability. And that is what Democratic candidates are going to focus on. You know, there may be a side mention of AI data centers, which are unpopular or a side mention of corruption. And people in politics getting ahead while regular people can't afford to buy a house or feel like the American dream is out of reach. But it really all comes back to the economy, which is a big shift from 2024 when the message coming from the top of the ticket on down included a big focus on democracy related issues. And Donald Trump is a threat to democracy and included a large focus on abortion rights and abortion access. That's not really the headline of the Democratic pitch right now. It's an affordability campaign. I feel like, Mara, we've talked about this a lot this year, too. Even when Democrats do touch on these other issues, I feel like with data centers, with corruption, they still seem to be trying to find a way to connect it back to that main theme. Right. Yes. And they have to. And they are doing that because there's so much corruption, they would say, because Donald Trump is making sweetheart deals for his friends and his family. That's why your prices are going up. The Iran war is unpopular. Why? Because it's causing you to pay more at the pump. He wants data centers. He says without data centers, you'll be backward and poor. But people don't see that. They see data centers making their energy prices go up. So I think that Democrats have stumbled upon a message that works and they're trying to weave it into everything that they're running against. I mean, we've established that the political headwinds are kind of moving in their direction for no other reason than just the fact that, you know, it's hard to run in a midterm year. And you are the party in power. Right. But what do you think Democrats are worried about at this point? Lots and lots and lots of things. But I think that specifically they have a kind of mirror image problem that the Republicans have in Texas. And that's in the state of Michigan, where the Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, is even at this late date still struggling to unify his party. And Democrats are very worried about that race. Michigan is a battleground state, but it is. It's mostly blue and it should be an easy state for it to pick. Democrats have to keep Michigan. They have to keep New Hampshire. They have to keep Georgia. And then in order to get control of the Senate, they have to pick up four in a universe of only six. North Carolina, Ohio, Maine, Texas, Iowa and Alaska. So they have a real uphill climb in the Senate. I would say that they are much more confident, cautiously confident about the House. You can almost imagine the sort of like hand-wringing. stories, Tam, that if they were, if Democrats were able to win Alaska and North Carolina and Ohio, but then lost Michigan and end up not having control of the Senate and a 50-50 Senate with J.D. Vance as a tiebreaker, like it would be, I don't know, it would kind of like blow up the entire media ecosystem. Well, yes. And I think if that were to happen, then all of the progressive momentum at trying to convince everyday Democratic voters that, yes, progressive ideas can win, that would be dramatic. dramatically eroded. But that's a big if. We don't know how these races are going to turn out. I'll say that in New Hampshire, the primary is actually happening today. And on the Democratic side, there is another one of these more establishment versus more progressive DSA style candidates. But it's such a late primary that Democrats really are nervous that, you know, the likely Republican nominee is a well-known name in the state of New Hampshire. And so, you know, every time a party is spending money to protect a seat that is currently in their hands. So Michigan and New Hampshire both have retiring Democratic senators is money that's not being spent on these reach states into more red areas. And and this is also the case for Republicans, though. If they are struggling in Texas, they aren't able to spend as much money in, you know, say, Michigan or in Georgia. That's right. And, you know, there are some things that make Democrats feel a little more optimistic. We've got a series of polls that now show that the share of Americans who say identify this is party ID identify as Democrats has actually grown. Democrats really have been in the tank. Their brand has been terrible for quite a number of years. But the latest data from Gallup shows Democrats with a 10 percentage point advantage over Republicans when people are asked what party they identify with, including in independence. And this is not just a trend that they're finally going in the right direction. These are absolute numbers. Now, it's also true that in a midterm election, the out party generally is seen more positively. But it's something that Democrats can feel good about. Yeah, I was talking to Democratic pollster and political consultant John Ancelone, who said, when Republicans lose, Democrats win. So if Republicans are unpopular, then even if Democrats are also unpopular, it is still better for Democrats. So he is pretty optimistic in this moment. What else are you guys going to be watching before we go just in the next couple months? Well, I'm going to be watching this convention and not getting very much sleep. And not watching the NFL. I'm sorry. Well, I mean, like, you know, there's a multi-screen experience. I don't know how good the Wi-Fi will be in the convention hall, but, you know, we'll see. Yeah, you know, I am definitely watching for whether Democrats really are able to stretch into redder states. This is an existential question for Democrats going forward. I guess that's what I'm watching for. Yeah, Democrats have to be able to compete in red states. Just because of the way that the American political system is set up, states that have a lot of acreage and fewer people are advantaged. And those are the red states. And they have to learn how to do better there. And I think that they are learning in places like North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Alaska. Those are places that Democrats feel could offer a template for the future. All right, we can leave it there. All right, we can leave it there for today. And before we go, just a quick plug for a virtual event that we're doing for our NPR Plus supporters next week. It's on the midterms and the races that could decide the control of Congress. We're also going to be doing a live question and answer during the event. And it's going to give you a chance to ask whatever questions your heart desires to me, Tamara Keith, and Mara Liason. Whatever questions you want, whatever questions have popped into your mind during this podcast, all three of us will be there. It's next Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific. over Zoom. And for our Plus supporters, check out our bonus episode from August 30th for details on how to register. If you haven't joined Plus yet, what are you waiting for? Get after it. Just join at plus.npr.org. I'm Miles Parks. I cover voting. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics. And, oh, Jesus. We can stay together if you want to. That would be nice. Just hold hands and jump off the waterfall together. And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast. Sorry. I love it. I love it.