Senate Majority Leader Snub Blows Hole
in Unity Facade for Trump Midterm Rally
GOP Scrambles to Save Trump from Humiliation in Dallas
Capitol Inside
September 7, 2026
The first-ever midterm convention that President Donald Trump conceived as a way to unite the party is doing just the opposite so far with the exclusion of U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune from the speaker's lineup at the event in Dallas where all of the other GOP congressional leaders are slated to appear.
The powerful South Dakota solon's name was conspicuously missing from a list of 47 speakers that the Republican National Committee made public during the Labor Day weekend. The RNC made the snub all the more insulting for Thune when it added U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso to the roster of Republicans who are scheduled to appear at the rally that gets under way at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday.
The decision to keep Thune off the stage in Big D appeared to be a message from the president on the wages of occasional defiance as opposed to the fruits of unconditional loyalty that Trump demands. Thune had backed Texas incumbent John Cornyn in a primary runoff election that Ken Paxton won during the spring with an endorsement from Trump a week before the vote.
But after warning that the GOP could lose the Texas seat with Paxton as the nominee, Thune had fallen in line dutifully and made a relatively half-hearted plug for the state attorney general by virtue of the fact that he's the Republican nominee. Paxton is one of 47 Republicans who landed speaking parts in Dallas including a total of 10 from the Lone Star State. Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and a quartet of Texas congressional candidates landed on the Dallas convention speaker list that Thune failed to make despite his position as the party's third most powerful elected leader in the United States.
While the Senate majority leader failed to merit a place in the parade of speakers for the novel midterm event, the RNC has several GOP lawmakers who are running against Democrats in races that haven't been competitive set to take the stage in Dallas this week. U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill of Flower Mound is one of the more glaring examples as someone who scored a speaking role at the event even though he's widely viewed a shoo-in for a win this fall in Congressional District 26 where Trump received more than 60 percent of the vote in 2024. Gill was listed on Monday as a 93 percent favorite over Democrat Steven Shook in CD 26 on the prediction market Kalshi.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is scheduled to speak this week in Dallas as well even though he isn't on the ballot again in 2026. Several of the Republicans who landed speaking assignments for the Trump Texas rally are prohibitive favorites over Democrats this fall while several others are major underdogs in races against Democratic foes.
Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina - the GOP nominee in Congressional District 28 - was chosen to speak at the midterm convention as a candidate who has a 15 percent chance of beating veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar based on the odds on Kalshi today. Texas Republicans thought they could beat Cuellar when he'd been facing criminal charges before Trump sent a torpedo into the GOP plans for CD 28 with a decision to pardon the Democrat. Tijerina's inclusion in the RNC rally speaker lineup may seem all the more bizarre in light of the cold shoulder for Thune.
RNC Midterm Convention Speakers
Keynotes 9
President Trump, Night One Keynote Address and Night Two Closing Remarks
Vice President Vance, Night Two Keynote Address
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Attorney General Todd Blanche
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz
HUD Secretary Scott Turner
Former press secretary Karoline Leavitt
Donald Trump Jr.
Republican Leadership 8
Speaker Mike Johnson
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso
Senator Tim Scott, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer
House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters
Elected Officials 18
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas)
Sen. Jon Husted (Ohio)
Sen. Dave McCormick (Pa.)
Gov. Greg Abbott (Texas)
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton
Rep. Rob Bresnahan (Pa.)
Georgia Senate candidate Rep. Mike Collins
Rep. Monica De La Cruz (Texas)
Florida governor candidate Rep. Byron Donalds
Rep. Brandon Gill (Texas)
Rep. Brian Jack (Ga.)
Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.)
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.)
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.)
Rep. Jason Smith (Mo.)
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (Wis.)
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson
Candidates 12
Captain Mike Bouchard Jr., Candidate for U.S. House (MI-10)
Laurie Buckhout, Candidate for U.S. House (NC-01)
Greg Cunningham, Candidate for U.S. House (NM-02)
Jay Feely, Candidate for U.S. House (AZ-01)
Eric Flores, Candidate for U.S. House (TX-34)
Carlos De La Cruz, Candidate for U.S. House (TX-35)
Mike LiPetri, Candidate for U.S. House (NY-03)
Derek Merrin, Candidate for U.S. House (OH-09)
Marty O'Donnell, Candidate for U.S. House (NV-03)
Mike Rogers, Candidate for U.S. Senate (MI)
Tano Tijerina, Candidate for U.S. House (TX-28)
Michael Whatley, Candidate for U.S. Senate (NC)
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