Republicans gathered in Dallas on Wednesday facing a worsening cost-of-living crisis that threatens to overwhelm the party’s message ahead of November’s US midterm elections, as President Donald Trump’s trade policies and war with Iran pushed fresh pressure on prices.
The Republican National Committee’s two-day midterm convention at the American Airlines Center was intended to showcase the party’s achievements and energise candidates. Instead, lawmakers and campaign strategists were privately discussing how to protect vulnerable seats as oil rose above $100 a barrel and the trade dispute with Canada intensified. ([gopconvention.com](https://gopconvention.com/?utm_source=openai))
The Dallas gathering is the first Republican midterm convention of its kind and is being used as a high-profile platform for Mr Trump, Vice-President JD Vance and candidates seeking to retain Republican control of Congress. Yet some party figures have stayed away to concentrate on their own re-election campaigns, reflecting unease about the president’s political impact in competitive districts. ([rollcall.com](https://rollcall.com/2026/09/09/5-things-to-know-about-the-republican-midterm-convention/?utm_source=openai))
Behind closed doors, senior Republicans and candidates from difficult Senate races met with representatives of a Senate-aligned super PAC to discuss a battleground map that is becoming more challenging as voters focus on petrol, groceries, housing and healthcare.
Mr Vance is due to address delegations from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin on Thursday, with Republicans in those states seeking reassurance about how the administration intends to respond to the economic strain.
“We are going the wrong direction,” one Republican lawmaker at the convention said, warning that the party had little time to change course before the election.
The pressure has been compounded by Washington’s escalating dispute with Ottawa. On Tuesday, the White House announced new tariffs and import bans affecting Canadian goods, including products linked to the automotive, dairy and alcohol sectors. The measures are due to take effect in stages later this month. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/09/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-responds-to-canadas-retaliation/?utm_source=openai))
Republicans in the Midwest fear the dispute could damage car manufacturing and farming, while ranchers and farmers in several states have also reacted angrily to the administration’s decision to increase foreign beef imports before the election.
“We’re putting Iowa in play,” one senior House Republican said of the Senate map. “We’re putting Texas in play. They shouldn’t be.”
Oil prices have added another problem. Brent crude moved above $100 a barrel on Wednesday after fresh attacks between the United States and Iran, with the increase feeding through to petrol prices and unsettling financial markets. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/7538e6386a819bcdc2547d530ec3472e?utm_source=openai))
Mr Trump told reporters that oil prices would eventually fall, but suggested the relief might not arrive until after the midterm election. That timing has alarmed Republicans who are already struggling to explain higher fuel and household costs to voters. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/22ffe753bb2d60c99024ca6cfbec4142?utm_source=openai))
“You can’t hide the fact of what the price of gasoline is, we know that,” said Mike Collins, the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia, while defending the administration’s military campaign against Iran.
Some Republicans argue that the conflict’s economic consequences are a short-term cost of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Others fear that voters will judge the administration on the immediate impact at the pump rather than its longer-term foreign policy aims.
“We [have] to be patient with the fluctuations, especially with oil and what’s happening in the Gulf now,” said Marty O’Donnell, a Republican challenging Democratic Representative Susie Lee in Nevada.
Republican leaders are expected to use the convention to renew their claim that the party is best placed to cut prices. Several candidates plan to blame Democrats for the affordability crisis, while highlighting tax cuts, lower prescription costs and efforts to bring manufacturing back to the United States.
The White House said Mr Trump had been working to reduce costs for working families through tax cuts, changes to prescription drug prices, an expanded child tax credit and policies intended to create manufacturing jobs. The Republican National Committee also blamed Democrats for rising prices.
That argument faces a difficult reception. A poll conducted by Politico in August found that 34 per cent of Americans held Mr Trump fully responsible for the state of the economy, compared with 17 per cent who said the same of former president Joe Biden.
Campaign cash may provide some immediate assistance. An affiliated Republican super PAC began releasing millions of dollars for key Senate contests on Wednesday, as party leaders seek to counter Democratic advertising focused on petrol and everyday expenses.
But even Republicans acknowledge that advertising cannot entirely resolve the problem.
“We got to talk about the issues that people are dealing with,” Senator Rick Scott of Florida said. “Families can’t afford their house, they can’t afford the food, they can’t afford health care, they can’t afford child care.”
Mike Lawler, one of the most vulnerable House Republicans, said the party had to continue working to bring down energy, housing and grocery costs. He pointed to the administration’s deal involving Venezuelan oil while blaming New York Democrats for high energy prices in his state.
For Republicans, the convention’s central political challenge is to keep Mr Trump at the centre of the campaign without allowing his policies to eclipse the cost-of-living message that helped the party two years ago.
“We have to hope that in six weeks the price per barrel goes down because it’s a big deal,” said a Georgia Republican strategist who did not attend the Dallas event. “The Democrats have been beating the daylights out of us on that for a while now.”
