Republican delegates gathered in Dallas for the party's first-ever midterm convention showed overwhelming support for Donald Trump, largely dismissing concerns about his falling approval ratings and the ongoing conflict with Iran. This unity within the convention hall contrasts sharply with warning signs elsewhere for the party, as Republicans are being forced to defend traditionally safe seats and states ahead of the November midterms, with even Trump's own pollster flagging trouble in a key Texas Senate race.

Trump's national approval rating has dropped to a career-low 33 percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with only 20 percent of Americans saying the Iran war was worthwhile and 80 percent expecting the conflict to continue. In Texas, a poll by Trump's own pollster Tony Fabrizio showed Republican Ken Paxton trailing Democrat James Talarico 48 percent to 44 percent, prompting Vice President JD Vance to campaign in Kansas and the Club for Growth to spend in Nebraska — states usually considered safely Republican. Despite this, convention attendees largely rejected the polling, with one dismissing Talarico as "a fraud and a phony" and another saying they only trust polls when favourable, while Vance's keynote speech was briefly interrupted by a protester waving Mexican and Palestinian flags.