Donalds, Luna to speak at ‘multi-millionaire-palooza’ in Dallas Wednesday

Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters says tonight’s first midterm Republican convention in Dallas has one mission: to defy history and grow Republican majorities in both the House and Senate in November.

The Sarasota Republican, officially still representing Florida’s 22nd District in the state Senate, became the RNC chair a year ago and leads a party that could suffer major general election losses, in the House in particular.

The late summer GOP get-together comes as the United States is seven months into an unpopular war with Iran, with gas prices rising again, and oil topping $100 per barrel as of Tuesday. That development has contributed to President Donald Trump’s approval ratings dropping sharply in recent months.

Additionally, historically a president’s party can suffer electorally in midterm elections. In the 20 midterm elections since the end of World War II in 1945, the president’s party has lost seats in 18 of them (the exceptions were in 1998 and 2002).

Pinellas County U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is scheduled to appear in the first hour. A close ally of the president, Luna is running for a third term against retired Army brigadier general and attorney Leela Gray.

The other Florida Republican scheduled to speak Wednesday night is Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds, who in early 2025 received Trump’s backing to succeed Ron DeSantis.  He is scheduled to speak in primetime, shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern time. Donalds will discuss “Red State Success vs. Blue State Failure,” according to the program overview provided by the RNC.

Donalds played down his appearance during the convention in a brief interview with the Phoenix last weekend, acknowledging he would speak but adding, “I’ve got to get back to Florida.”

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried blasted the two Republicans, saying in a virtual press call Wednesday that the GOP was throwing Trump a “’multimillion-dollar-palooza’ to celebrate his historically unpopular agenda. And Byron Donalds and Anna Paulina Luna are going to be the life of the party.”

“Instead of fighting for a more affordable Florida, Donalds and Luna are jetting off to Texas to celebrate themselves and Trump. For what? Because Donalds and Luna have voted for Trump’s unaffordability agenda every step of the way,” Fried said.

She specifically referred, she said, to votes the two have cast to protect the president’s tariffs from congressional oversight and the war in Iran.

“Donalds and Luna might be able to pop some champagne and worship the president, causing prices to skyrocket, but Floridians? We’re fed up,” Fried added.

Another Floridian will speak in Dallas Wednesday — Mary Alice Hazen, listed in the GOP program as an “Everyday American, Retiree and Senior Tax-Relief Beneficiary.”