RNC proposes rule change to enable midterm convention

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

The RNC on Thursday proposed a change to party rules that would allow Chairman Joe Gruters “to call a special ceremonial convention outside of a presidential election cycle,” according to a memo first shared with Fox News Digital.

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

But as Republicans seek to protect their narrow control of the Senate and razor-thin majority in the House in this year’s elections, President Donald Trump announced in September that the Republican Party would hold a convention before the midterm elections “to showcase the great things we’ve done” since winning the White House.

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President Donald Trump arrives to speak during the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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

The ruling party, in this case the Republicans, normally faces serious political difficulties in the midterms. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the Republican Party a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and his congressional candidates running in the midterms.

The rules of the RNC 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 convened at least 60 days in advance and that no business will be discussed during the gathering.

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

It’s unclear whether the full RNC membership will vote on the rule change when it meets Friday during the conference’s general session. If the rule is not adopted by the entire RNC, it would have to be approved at the party’s spring meeting.

Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters speaks at the RNC summer meeting, August 22, 2025, in Atlanta. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Gruters, in a statement to Fox News Digital, emphasized that the RNC’s winter meeting “shows how Republicans are completely united behind President Trump and our efforts to win the midterm elections. The RNC has been aggressively focused on increasing our war chest, voter participation, and protecting the ballot in this fall’s election. We are building the operation necessary to protect our majorities and give President Trump a full four-year term with a Republican Congress.”

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

But a Republican source told Fox News Digital that it’s likely the convention will be held at the same time as the RNC’s summer meeting, which typically takes place in August.

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The rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) could also hold a midterm convention. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last summer that DNC ​​Chairman Ken Martin and other party leaders were quietly pushing the idea of ​​a convention before the midterm elections.

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