The Republican National Committee concluded its first national midterm convention Thursday night at the American Airlines Center, an event whose Texas programming centered on Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Paxton, who served in Texas House District 70, a McKinney seat, from 2003 to 2013 and in Texas Senate District 8 from 2013 to 2015, spoke on Wednesday to present an economic plan and criticize his Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico. Dallas is about 31 miles south of McKinney.
President Donald Trump addressed the crowd on both nights, a schedule that organizers expanded from one appearance to two. During his Wednesday keynote, Trump proposed a $5,000 payment to every adult American citizen if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress. He compared this to previous initiatives funded by Congress, though he did not specify how the new payments would be authorized.
Democratic members of Congress, gathered across the street from the arena, called the proposal an "empty promise." Trump also stated he would return to Texas multiple times to support Paxton, while simultaneously joking about the attorney general’s appearance and speech.
The two-day event featured more than 100 speakers, including Vice President JD Vance, Gov. Greg Abbott, and Sen. Ted Cruz. Abbott called the election "a choice between common sense and crazy," while Cruz described the Democratic Party as a "red-green alliance" of "communists and Islamists." The Dallas Host Committee reported raising $45 million in private donations for the event, which expected 20,000 attendees.
Security costs approached $2 million, and police reported two arrests following protests near the venue. Tim Bates, a longtime Collin County Republican precinct chair, told The Dallas Morning News he would not pay $5,000 to get in and forwarded a state party email offering free tickets to other precinct chairs; those tickets did not guarantee entry if the arena filled.
