House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s proposal for a Republican Party midterm convention, which he floated last week, is likely to be finalized.
“The president called me when I was on the road, maybe a week ago or whenever this made news in the morning,” the Louisiana Republican said during his press briefing. “He said, ‘Mike, I got a great idea … how about a midterm convention?’”
And that idea, Johnson said, is “genius.”
The speaker added that Trump told him that a midterm convention had “never been done before like that” and that it would be “‘such a great rallying point for us in the fall right before the election to lead up to that, to the momentum that we have so much to sell and talk about and, and, and celebrate.’”
“Trump loves the big show,” Johnson said, adding that the president planned to consult Senate Majority Leader John Thune and new Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters on the convention plans.
“I think everybody’s on board,” said Johnson, adding that the news broke about the midterm convention idea shortly after the Speaker got off the phone with the president.
“So, I think that’s a done deal now,” he said. “I’m really excited about it. I can’t wait. We have so much to celebrate.”
Democrats are considering holding their own midterm convention to refine their message ahead of the 2026 elections and bid to reclaim control of Congress — an idea Johnson dismissed as “hilarious.”
“If they’re going to put on display what they did at their little workshop a couple of weeks ago, bring it,” the speaker said. “All we’ve got to do is find the right location and get this thing planned, and we’re going to be excited.”
Trump floated the idea of a national midterm convention last week to rally Republicans ahead of the 2026 elections, citing the party’s gains since his 2024 victory over Democrat Kamala Harris. Such conventions are uncommon outside presidential election years, but Trump argued it would help energize the GOP base.
Republicans are looking to defend their congressional majority, even as history shows the party in power often loses ground in midterms. That said, red states led by Texas are looking at mid-census redistricting to gain more Republican seats. Democrats have considered similar action but have fewer paths to gain more House seats.
Johnson said during a Fox News interview last week that Republicans won “every aspect” of the 2024 presidential election and predicted that the GOP is poised to “perform well in next year’s midterms.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump lauded the GOP as “doing really well” and “Millions of people have joined us in our quest to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
“We have raised far more money than the Democrats, and are having a great time fixing all of the Country Destroying mistakes made by the Biden Administration, and watching the USA heal and prosper,” Trump wrote.
“The results are incredible, a record pace!!! In that light, I am thinking of recommending a National Convention to the Republican Party, just prior to the Midterms. It has never been done before. STAY TUNED!!!” he wrote.
The Democratic Party is grappling with a stunning collapse in voter registrations as Republicans surge nationwide, fueled by President Donald Trump’s expanding political coalition.
According to a New York Times analysis of registration data from L2, a nonpartisan firm that tracks voter rolls, more new voters registered as Republicans than Democrats for the first time since 2018. The shift comes after the 2024 election, when Trump expanded his reach among men, younger voters, and Latinos, reshaping traditional assumptions about partisan loyalties.
The data paints a sobering picture for Democrats. “Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot,” the Times report said.
The net effect was a 4.5 million-voter swing: Democrats shed about 2.1 million registrants, while Republicans gained 2.4 million.