RNC eyes ‘America First’ midterm convention to boost Trump, GOP ahead of critical elections

FIRST ON FOX — The Republican National Committee (RNC) is taking a big step toward holding its first-ever midterm convention.

National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years.

But with Republicans aiming to protect their narrow control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in this year’s elections, President Donald Trump announced in September that the GOP would hold a convention ahead of the midterms “in order to show the great things we have done” since recapturing the White House.

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The new memo highlights “the possibility of an America First midterm convention-style gathering aligned with President Trump’s vision for energizing the party this fall.”

The party in power, in this case the Republicans, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterms. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the GOP a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and their congressional candidates running in the midterms.

The RNC’s rules are based on holding a convention every four years. The proposed rule change will allow the RNC to hold a midterm convention. If adopted, the rule states that the convention must be called at least 60 days in advance, and no business would be conducted during the gathering.

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The proposed change was adopted Thursday evening by the RNC’s Rules Committee during the party’s winter meeting in Santa Barbara, California.

It’s unclear if the full RNC membership will vote on the rule change when it gathers Friday at the confab’s general session. If the rule isn’t adopted by the full RNC, it’s expected to be approved at the party’s spring meeting.

Details on the date and location of the midterm convention will come at a later date and will likely be announced by the president.

Democrats held a handful of midterm conventions in the 1970s and 1980s.