GOP’s midterm convention aims to galvanize party but some Republicans are steering clear
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Most Republicans in top Minnesota offices or seeking them are skipping a national party convention or reluctant to say if they’ll be in Dallas this week that President Donald Trump pushed for to rally the GOP and raise money in a tough election year.
MPR News contacted several GOP campaigns about whether the candidate will attend the convention that begins Wednesday and concludes with a primetime speech from Trump on Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber's campaign says the northern Minnesota congressman plans to be there at least one of the days.
U.S. Senate nominee Michele Tafoya's campaign says she is not going.
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State Sen. Eric Pratt won't attend either, citing a full schedule back home as he competes for a U.S. House seat in the competitive 2nd Congressional District.
The campaigns for U.S. House members Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Tom Emmer didn't respond. Emmer is the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House.
For Republicans, their fall fortunes might be tied to Trump no matter what. But with Trump’s approval rating sagging, it makes navigating the GOP midterm convention with him as the central figure difficult for some.
"President Trump isn't very popular with independent voters,” said Kathryn Pearson, a professor of political science at the University of Minnesota. "And so, Republicans running in competitive states, competitive districts, will think twice about whether or not they should go to Dallas and be seen with the president when they're really trying to distance themselves from the president at home."
The state GOP is sending a 45-person delegation but hasn't said who is in it.
Politico reports it contacted 70 GOP candidates, at least 45 of them said they were not attending.
At the Minnesota State Fair last week, Republican governor nominee Lisa Demuth greeted voters as a heavy downpour hit.
"I won't be attending,” Demuth, the state House speaker, said about the convention.
She said she wants to “stay focused” with the election less than two months out. “I'll be here in Minnesota working with the people here in Minnesota, and our schedule is completely packed."
Demuth said she doesn't believe the event will have a big bearing on the campaign.
"I don't think the midterm convention will impact the change that Minnesotans are desperate for-that fresh start, the change in direction, because of what we've experienced with the fraud and the waste here,” she said.
Ford Johnson, a Republican voter from Little Canada, said he can see positives and negatives for candidates.
"I think any time you can interact with the public a little bit more and get your message out to, not just parties or systems of politics, and instead of just the average person, it's a good thing,” he said. "At the end of the day, it's going to just be a Trump rally the whole time, and that doesn't help our seats as much as they should."
Still, he said Trump has a strong base and has historically been strong at getting voters excited and to the polls.
Pearson said Republican candidates are in a tough position.
"Those Republicans who don't go, I don't think will be honest about the reasons they're not going. I think they'll cite scheduling conflicts and a host of other reasons,” she said. “Because, for the most part, Republicans don't want to criticize the president, even as they may want to distance themselves from the president."
State DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said Republican candidates can't easily escape Trump's shadow.
“Republicans are either racing towards Trump in order to get some of the money he has, you know, the $400 million war chest he has, or they're just doing everything they can to prove their support of him,” he said.
Deputy Republican Party Chair Donna Bergstrom said the Dallas convention tickets have been popular. But she said candidates have to decide between things like time on the campaign trail and meeting more donors.
"The question really comes down to what are you going to gain from it,” she said.
But she doesn't think skipping it is a slight to the president.
"I don't think people are necessarily shying away from Trump,” she said. “I think people really feel strongly for the good things he's done, and there have been many of those."
